BENGALURU: Mangaluru airport may be shifted from the existing hilltop. The state government is planning a feasibility study for an alternative site between Udupi and Mangaluru for the development of a new airport. Large and Medium Scale Industries Minister R V Deshpande informed this in the council in reply to a query raised by Ganesh Karnik of BJP.
He said that they are also examining the possibility of extension of runway with an extent of 33 acres of land for the critical mandatory requirement for safe landing at the existing airport.
Members from BJP and Congress earlier said that more international airports are coming up in the neighbouring state Kerala, after which air traffic is likely to be diverted. Hence, there is a need to develop Mangaluru international airport, they added, while demanding for runway extension.
Recently, a senior AAI authority, who was in Bengaluru, met the Chief Secretary of Karnataka and offered four different options for upgradation of existing Mangaluru airport.