Hubbali: Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Tuesday unveiled the upgraded airport in Karnataka’s second-largest city to enhance connectivity from the region to other parts of the state and the country.

Hubballi Airport has been included in the second phase of Udan (regional airport connectivity and development) scheme of the central government, said Raju.

“Since Hubballi is tagged for UDAN, it is expected that this upgraded airport will be connected shortly with many other airports in the country,” said Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, who was also present at the event.

Located 410 km to the northwest of Bengaluru, Hubballi forms a continuous urban area with its twin city Dharwad.

Currently, the Hubballi Airport has one daily flight to Bengaluru through a ATR-72, a twin-engine short-haul aircraft.

A new Air India flight A-319 connecting Bengaluru to Mumbai via Hubballi was flagged off from the upgraded airport. The flight will operate thrice a week, with a capacity of 160 passengers.

“The upgraded airport is now capable of handling AB-320 aircraft,” said the Airports Authority of India, which operates the airport, in a statement.

The terminal, upgraded at an outlay of Rs 142 crore, has standing seam double insulated roofing system, energy efficient chillers, sewage treatment plant, variable frequency drive high capacity motors etc.

The upgraded airport is built in an area of 3,600 square km and can handle up to 300 passengers at a time during peak hours.

During 2016-17, Hubballi Airport had handled around 25,928 passengers.

Hubballi, a home to many small, medium and large scale industries, is one of the fastest growing cities in the state.

The Hubballi-Dharwad region is also popular for tourism due to its proximity to the Western Ghats.