Airport stakeholders hope for budget support

Shilpa P | NT

With the city being a major tourism hub and the alternate city to Bengaluru for business investors, expansion of its airport will go a long way in furthering its ambitions, stakeholders of the aerodrome believe. They hope their long-time demand for extension of the runway here will find favour in the forthcoming state budget.

The present 1,740-metrelong runway of the airport can handle ATR flights of 72-seat capacity. There is a proposal for extension of runway to 2,750 metres to accommodate the Air Bus 320 national and international flights of at least 180 seater capacity. Officials of Airport Authority of India have come up with master plan for extension of the runway at Mysuru airport at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore with the project period of 24 months. Also, while National Highway 212 (Mysuru-Nanjangud road) comes in way of extension of run way, a tunnel or an underpass for NH212, below the extended run way, has been proposed. And Bureau of civil aviation security has already given “Security clearance” to it too in May 2018 itself, according to Mysuru airport authorities.