Air Deccan launches Bangalore-Hampi-Goa flight

Air Deccan’s flight from Bangalore to Hampi (Bellary) and onward to Goa was launched on Friday. According to a release, daily flights from Bangalore and Goa to Hampi will commence operations on November 15, 2006 and will be serviced by an ATR 42-500 (48 seater) aircraft.

Hampi, the seat of the famed Vijaynagara Empire was the capital of the largest empire in post-mogul India. Although in ruins today, this capital city once boasted riches known far beyond the shores of India. The ruins silently narrate the story of grandeur beauty and glory of the empire. Such is the splendor of these ruins that the central government has decided to develop Hampi as an international destination centre and give it World Heritage status.

Captain G R Gopinath, managing director, Air Deccan said: “Someone once said, ‘If dreams were made out of stone, it would be Hampi’. We have been working for the last two years to give wings and open up the gateways to this magical city. I am glad our first flight took off on the first day of the Hampi Utsav.”

“We will use the Jindal Vijaynagar township airfield which is equidistant from both Hampi and Bellary roughly at a distance of 45 minutes. The new flights will attract a good number of tourists and also travelers to the industrial town of Bellary. It takes approximately 6 hours to reach Bellary from Bangalore by road and ten hours by train and the new flight will greatly reduce the travel time.”

He further added: “Hampi attracts a lot of tourists both domestic as well as international, and connectivity from Goa to Hampi is sure to boost tourism in the region. There is no direct connectivity between Goa and Hampi and one has to travel to Hospet to catch a bus or train from Hampi which is time consuming especially for tourists.” “The last flight to Bellary was a Tata mail flight that landed way back in 1932. Though there are three airstrips in Bellary none is being used and we hope that with our foray into Hampi, aviation will pick up in this region” said Capt Gopinath.

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