Karnataka will place a comprehensive aviation policy before the next state Cabinet meeting, with provisions for grants, viability-gap funding and operating models for airports managed by the state government, Infrastructure Development Minister M.B. Patil said on Tuesday.
The policy is being framed to support the growth of civil aviation in Karnataka and could become a model for other states, Patil said while speaking to the media. The proposed framework will address how state-managed airports are funded and operated, including measures intended to make their services viable.
Patil’s announcement comes amid concerns over the sustainability of regional airports and the continuity of flight services from smaller cities. He said the suspension of services from Shivamogga airport was linked to shortcomings in the Centre’s UDAN-2 regional connectivity policy.
The minister also criticised the transfer and proposed privatisation of airports in the state. He said Mangaluru airport had been handed over to the Adani Group and that the Hubballi airport was now being privatised. He further said Karnataka had spent ₹1,000 crore on the Kalaburagi airport before it was placed under the control of the Centre, without generating revenue for the state.
Patil said Karnataka had suggested extending the period of support under the UDAN scheme from three years to five years. The state had also proposed that the Centre and state share expenses in a 50:50 ratio for a further five years, he said, arguing that the arrangement could improve the performance of regional airports. According to Patil, the Centre did not accept the proposal and 17 airports across the country had subsequently become non-operational.
The minister said the state government had decided to operate the Shivamogga, Raichur and Vijayapura airports itself rather than invest thousands of crores in airport construction and then hand the facilities to the Centre. He said flight services at the previously suspended Kalaburagi airport were restarted with 80 per cent of the funding provided by the Karnataka Kalyana Region Development Board and the remaining 20 per cent by the state government.
The proposed policy therefore places the question of airport ownership and operating responsibility at the centre of Karnataka’s aviation strategy. It also indicates that the state is seeking a greater role in determining how regional airports are financed and kept operational, rather than relying entirely on centrally administered schemes.
Patil also made separate allegations about ethanol blending and called for an investigation into the Centre’s policy. Those remarks were not part of the proposed aviation policy framework. The Karnataka government’s aviation policy will now be taken up for consideration at the next Cabinet meeting.
