Ministers push airlines to launch air services to Kalaburagi and Bidar

Karnataka ministers M B Patil, Sharanaprakash R Patil, Priyank Kharge, Rahim Khan, and Kalyan Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) chairman Ajay Singh on Monday held a meeting with airline officials to discuss starting regular flights between Bengaluru and the cities of Kalaburagi and Bidar.

The meeting at Bengaluru was attended by representatives of IndiGo, Air India, Alliance Air, Star Air, and Akasa Air, alongside senior state officials R Vishal and Karnataka state Industries and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) managing director Khushbu Goyal Chaudhary.

Discussions focused on operational feasibility and infrastructure, including the 742-acre Kalaburagi airport, which is equipped for all types of aircraft and offers night parking facilities, said the industries department in a press release.


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Officials noted that daily services to Bengaluru and other states could be developed from the airport.

One airline said that it was reviewing operational feasibility for Kalaburagi, while another said it had retired its 50-seater aircraft and was considering morning flights to Bidar and evening services to Kalaburagi from Bengaluru.

In the statement, another operator is evaluating commercial viability, and a few others are exploring a Bengaluru–Kalaburagi–Hyderabad–Bengaluru route.

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The ministers directed airlines to submit firm proposals, including flight timings, for Bengaluru–Kalaburagi and Bengaluru–Bidar routes by March 23. A final decision will be taken at the next meeting, said the statement.