HUBBALI: Airline service providers at Hubballi airport have reduced flight frequency and the number of daily flights reduced at the airport. There is a lone flight on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Hubballi to the state capital.
The airport was the third busiest airport in the state after Bengaluru and Mangaluru. As the COVID-19 pandemic began, gradually the number of aircraft reduced from the airport. There were daily flights to popular destinations such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kannur, Kochi, Hindon, Tirupati and three-four flights to Bengaluru before the third wave began.
Now Mumbai, Chennai, Kannur and Hindon (New Delhi) have flights only four days in a week, Tirupati has flights two days in a week and there are no flights to Kochi.
Indigo airline, which was the dominating air service provider from Hubballi is now not showing interest to operate daily flights to the busiest destinations. Hubballi-Ahmedabad was the busiest route and Indigo was operating Airbus between these two destinations, now there is flights to this route for the last year.
According to an officer from the air service provider, as the Covid-19 cases began to increase, to prevent spread the airlines came up with many rules and restrictions as per the government guidelines. The restrictions were also the reason for the declining number of air passengers, as a result, Hyderabad, Goa and many other routes ' frequencies were reduced and a few of those routes were completely suspended.
Now, the situation has been improved, but the airline companies are not getting viability gap funding (VGF) under Udan, therefore they reduced frequencies to Goa, Hyderabad, Mangaluru routes, he added.
As per the airport officer, during the end of this financial year airlines are not ready to resume service to suspended routes. It is expected that from the upcoming financial year, a few more routes may resume service. Indigo is expected to resume evening flight service to Bengaluru from mid-March, likewise, Air India may also operate some flights from Hubballi under the new management.
Many air passengers and businessmen from the city have been echoing their demand on social media to force the air service providers to resume daily flight service to popular destinations and evening flights to Bengaluru too.
Mumbai, Chennai, Hindon and Kannur have flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Tirupati has flights on Friday and Sunday. Bengaluru has two flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and only one flight on Tuesday Thursday and Saturday