After owning airports, Karnataka Govt keen on starting an airline

Karnataka government is considering to launch its own airline for regional connectivity, the state’s industries and infrastructure development minister MB Patil said.

Mr.Patil said he has held discussions with founder of Star Airlines, Sanjay Ghodawat regarding the initiative.  We came to the conclusion that three planes could be bought for rs 600 crores. The cost could work out cheaper if the proposed state airline leases aircrafts he said. A sum of Rs 600 crore for a state government is not a big amount. We are considering it,” Patil said.

The idea was born out of the government’s decision to start maintaining airports on its own. “The Shivamogga airport is the first which will be managed by the state government. The upcoming airports at Vijayapura, Raichur, Ballari, Karwar and Hassan will be managed by the state. Earlier we used to hand over them to the Airports Authority of India with no benefit to us,” he said.

The maiden flight operated by Indigo Airlines from Bengaluru landed at the newly constructed  nearShivamogga on august 31st. The airport was inaugurated earlier this year.

The industries minister said that if regional air connectivity can be improved, then the state’s own airline is not impossible. Air connectivity can be provided from Mysuru to Bengaluru, Bengaluru to Kalaburagi, Bengaluru to Hubballi, Mysuru to Kalaburagi, Bengaluru to Shivamogga and other routes, he said