The Shivamogga airport inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February has begun air operations today. Karnataka Large and Medium Industries minister M B Patil along with Shivamogga region MLAs and political leaders including Education minister Madhu Bangarappa, former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and his MLA sons B Y Vijendra and B Y Raghavendra and senior BJP leader K S Eeshwarappa boarded the first flight from Bengaluru to Shivamogga today. The new airport built in the shape of lotus was built at a cost of around 450 crore rupees and can accommodate 300 passengers per hour. Speaking on the occasion, M B Patil said that Shivamogga, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Chitradurga, Davangere and Haveri districts will benefit by this air connectivity to the Malnad region of Karnataka. This will also trigger economic, industrial and educational sector growth of the region. As the airport is owned and managed by the state Government, the minister announced a 500 rupees rebate over the air ticket to fly to Shivamogga.