Hosur Airport will cater to one or two aircraft

C Shivakumar @ Chennai:

Hosur airport also known as Taneja aerodrome is likely to cater to one or two aircraft only in a bid to restrict competition to Bengaluru International Airport Limited, according to S Sreekumar, regional executive director of Airport Authority of India (Southern Region).   

Sreekumar said that a team from Airport Authority of India along officials from director general of civil aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security of India had visited the airport and submitted the report.

"Airport Authority of India does not have much role in the airport as it is owned by Pune-based operator Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Limited (TAAL)," he said.

The Taneja Aerodrome lies 60 km from Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and located close to Bengaluru’s information technology (IT) hub Electronics City. However, with a limited number of aircraft, it would not benefit most of people who would prefer to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bengaluru.

"The operation of airport now depends on decision taken by TAAL and Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL)," says Sreekumar. It is learnt that BIAL and TAAL has been in discussions over the quantum of flights to be operated from Hosur airport.

Thsi comes as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswamy has written to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu demanding the immediate commencement of operations from the Hosur aerodrome.

Sreekumar said that the airport has a space for parking small aircraft and a small terminal building. To a query on the status of Thanjavur airport under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Scheme, Sreekumar said that land acquisition has been a issue. "The Indian Airforce wanted the 25 acres of land which we possess and in turn promised to give us 50 acres of land. Once the land is acquired, the work will be started," he said.

Meanwhile, the last date for comments from stakeholders on the draft International Air Connectivity Scheme where in state governments will identify routes and offer financial support to select airlines in the form of subsidy for operation to international routes has come to an end on Tuesday.

Under the scheme International Air Connectivity Fund (IACF) corpus will be created through the contributions made by the state Governments. The fund can be created at the level of the Airports Authority of India or the State Governments as per the notifications issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation from time to time, which shall be a dedicated fund for the provision of Subsidy Support under the Scheme, the draft report said.

The Scheme envisages State Government led mechanism for selection of an airline to operate on an IAC Route, wherein the proposal will be evaluated as per prescribed mechanism. Pursuant to such evaluation of proposals, a selected airline will be identified and the State Government will enter into a three year agreement with the selected airline for operations on the IAC Route.

Sreekumar said that the draft is at a initial stage and it will be known only later on which all routes will be selected by the states to connect the Udan airport globally