SpiceJet to resume flights to Hubballi on January 16

Airline suspended its operations in August, 2014, as the works on airport development at a cost of Rs 140 crore had started then

SpiceJet will resume flying to Hubballi on January 16, according to sources. With the old runway at the airport repaired and strengthened, other private airlines are set to follow suit in the next couple of months, improving air connectivity to Hubballi.

SpiceJet, which had daily services to Bengaluru and Delhi via Mumbai from Hubballi, suspended its operations in August, 2014, as the works on airport development at a cost of Rs 140 crore had started then. Now, the old runway has been strengthened to facilitate operation of small planes with 70-80 seats.

The resumption of flights will bring a huge relief to businessmen, officials and corporate executives among others who were put to great inconvenience in the past five months. The resumption of flight services to Hubballi would also give a further boost to development of business activities in this region, industry leaders said.

Shivanand Benal, director of Hubballi airport, told that SpiceJet should have resumed services on December 1, but postponed it due to technical issues and some unavoidable circumstances. Now, SpiceJet had sought permission to resume services from January 16 and permission has been granted. SpiceJet will operate two flights just as it had been doing. The widening and extension of the runway is still under progress, but would not affect operation of flights from here.

Fights carrying VVIPs are landing and taking off from the old runway even now, and hence, there would be no hurdle in operating small planes, the official said. Sources in SpiceJet confirmed that the airline would operate two flights from Hubballi from January 16. It has also opened bookings at the Hubbali airport, and online.

The flight from Bengaluru will arrive in Hubballi at 7.20 pm and leave for the Bengaluru at 7.40 pm while the flight from Delhi will arrive at 1.30 pm and leave for the national capital at 1.50 pm daily. The runway will be widened to 45 metres from 30 metres and lengthened to 2,600 metres from 1,674 metres. It would take another four to five months for the work to be completed, after which bigger planes can operate from here.

Welcoming the progress, Vasanta N Ladawa, president of Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “We welcome SpiceJet’s decision to resume services from Hubballi. But, it should stick to its schedule.”