Mangaluru International Airport has a ‘connectivity’ problem!

Team Udayavani, Aug 14, 2023, 12:05 PM IST

Representative image (Source: iStock)

Mangaluru is the only second city in Karnataka, besides Bengaluru, to boast of an “international airport” that welcomes people from different parts of the country and the world. However, there’s a small problem – despite demand, not all destinations, both domestic as well as international, have direct flights from here. This can sometimes make travel a bit tricky for the people who live and travel here.

For example, imagine you want to visit an international tourist destination like Singapore or the Maldives. You would need to take a connecting flight, which means you have to wait at another airport before reaching your dream destination. This can take a long time and make the journey tiring.

Moreover, many of the major airlines do not operate flights to and from Mangaluru. This makes availing of connecting flights also very cumbersome for air travellers.

Similar is the case for reaching destinations in the Gulf region where many of the locals are employed. Many people from Mangalore live and work in countries like Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, so having more flights to these places would be really helpful.

Consider the case of Kuwait – There is only one flight per week from Mangaluru to Kuwait. That too on a Sunday. This schedule is problematic for NRIs as Friday and Saturday are holidays in Kuwait. Although there is a possibility to come from Kuwait via Mumbai, there is a wait of about 7 hours. Thus, despite having an international airport, the unavailability of direct flights is causing inconvenience to passengers, says a non-resident Indian.

Having more flights is also required considering that Mangaluru and Udupi are regional educational hubs. Having more flights would make it easier for students to travel.

Not many options for domestic air travel either

At present, IndiGo operates flights a large chunk of flights to New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune. Air India only operates flights to Mumbai. As of now, there is no direct domestic flight to other domestic destinations from Mangaluru.

By the way, there was a discussion about Mangaluru Airport getting connectivity by a new airline. Go Air, Akasa Air, Vistara, Air Asia and other airlines have been in talks to start operations from Mangaluru, but nothing has come to fruition so far.

The Mangaluru International Airport has seen a lot of travelers this year. From January to July, over 55,000 people traveled to and from other countries, and more than 100,000 people flew within India.

Connectivity to domestic and foreign destinations will not only make traveling more fun and convenient for everyone but also potentially boost the local economy. Let’s hope that soon we can fly directly to even more exciting places from our wonderful Mangaluru Airport!