A view of the passenger terminal at Shivamogga Airport.
| Photo Credit: File Photo
Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) chairperson Nanjayyana Math has said there is no proposal before the corporation to hand over or sell the Shivamogga Airport to any private firm.Addressing a press conference in Shivamogga on Friday, Mr. Nanjayyana Math said the corporation had floated an expression of interest to assess market response. However, no decision had so far been taken to hand over the assets and operations of the airport to either the Airports Authority of India (AAI) or any other agency.As many as 33 different agencies are involved in handling various operations at the airport. The corporation would review the performance of each agency regularly, in keeping with the terms and conditions of their engagement.On flight operations from the airport, Mr. Nanjayyana Math said the recent crisis in West Asia had badly affected the civil aviation sector. At present, only Star Air operates flights connecting Hyderabad, Tirupati and Goa with Shivamogga.“We are making efforts to launch flight connectivity to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Mysuru. There is a demand for connectivity to Mumbai. However, we are not getting any response from flight operators,” he said.On relaunching flight connectivity to Bengaluru, the chairperson said Star Air had expressed interest in operating the route. “They have not expressed their interest in writing. However, going by their discussions with us, we believe they are interested in operating the route. Flights to Bengaluru may begin operating by October,” he said.On the work to provide night-landing facilities at the airport, he said it was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of August but had been delayed due to rain. “So far, around 80% to 85% of the work has been completed. It may take another one to one-and-a-half months to complete,” he said.Responding to a question on the work at Hassan Airport, Mr. Nanjayyana Math said progress had been hit by delays in shifting electric towers that come in the way of the construction site. “Recently, KSIIDC officers held a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan and reviewed the progress. Earlier, the officers said they would require ₹17 crore to shift the towers. The estimate went up to ₹22 crore and then to ₹30 crore. I must admit there has been a delay in the execution of the project. I will review it again to assess the progress,” he added. Published - August 14, 2026 07:49 pm IST
