Bengaluru, (DHNS): Here’s some good news for those wanting to avoid the nightmarish experience of travelling on the highly crowded Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, especially during the holiday season.

To enable both domestic and international tourists to travel comfortably to witness the world-famous Dasara, the state Tourism department and the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) are launching a special aircraft from Bengaluru to Mysuru from October 10 to 20.

Subsidised fares

The other good news is that the flights will be available at heavily subsidised and affordable fares. According to sources in the department, while the lowest fare is Rs 999 (plus taxes), the maximum fare is Rs 15,000.

Flight tickets are also available at different slabs like Rs 1,200; Rs 1,500; Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,100. The KSTDC has signed an MoU with Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to operate the special flight to and from Mysuru, connecting Bengaluru. The 72-seater ATR aircraft will be operated everyday, (except Tuesdays) - from Bengaluru to Mysuru and from Mysuru to Bengaluru.

The flight will take off from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru. The flight will leave Bengaluru at 2.10 pm and reach the Mysuru airport by 3 pm. The return flight leaves Mysuru at 3.30 pm and reaches Bengaluru at 4.20 pm.

Bookings will be made available online soon. During the previous two years, the Tourism department had operated a seven-seater Cessna aircraft, branded as ‘Aakash Ambari,’ which used to operate from the HAL airport in Bengaluru.

The 72-seater aircraft is said to be more convenient as it works as a connecting flight for tourists landing in Bengaluru from other places. The Tourism department might operate this flight in future too, if it gets a good response during Dasara. Anticipating heavy traffic, the Bengaluru central division of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to ramp up the bus services from Bengaluru to Mysuru.

KSRTC will ply 175 additional buses for Dasara from the state capital to the historic city. The Corporation, which had introduced 70 to 80 Dasara buses last year, is pooling 25 buses each from the neighbouring divisions.

It will also be using 35 to 40 new buses to meet the holiday rush. The Corporation will introduce 100 additional multi-axle buses to tourist destinations like Panaji, Pune, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kottayam, Madurai, Trichy, Puducherry and Coimbatore. Services to various destinations within Karnataka will also be increased.