On record
Inaugurated on November 22, 2019 under the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme with just three weekly flights to Bengaluru, the airport built on a 742-acre site subsequently lost even that thin service. The Ministry of Civil Aviation's December 2025 disclosure to the Rajya Sabha listed Kalaburagi among 15 UDAN airports nationwide with zero scheduled flight operations.
The official record states: "Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol cited completion of the three-year Viability Gap Funding period, low passenger load factors making the route commercially unviable, and aircraft/leasing shortages as reasons across the affected airports."
“Seven hundred and forty-two acres, three flights a week at launch, and then not even those.”— Blunderlust Editorial Desk
Sources
- https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=194904
- https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/pathankot-ludhiana-shimla-among-15-udan-airports-with-no-flight-operation/
Visitor reviews Satire
“Seven hundred and forty-two acres and a full runway, currently hosting nothing at all.”
“It launched with three flights a week to Bengaluru and has since worked its way down to none.”
“The minister explains that the viability gap funding ran out, which is the only part of this airport that flew.”