Setback to Tamil Nadu govt: Defence ministry declines proposal for Hosur airport

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• Defence Ministry rejects Hosur airport proposal due to HAL airspace needs.
• State to assess options after repeated airspace clearance denials
• Study needed to assess impact on Bengaluru and Salem airports' passenger traffic

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The Union Ministry of Defence has once again turned down Tamil Nadu’s proposal to establish an airport in Hosur, a decision that has left the State government weighing its next steps.

Sources told The Hindu that the latest rejection was communicated through a letter sent last week. One of the key hurdles for the Hosur airport project is the requirement of defence clearances, as the airspace over the region is under the control of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

“The Ministry communicated in a letter last week that HAL needed the airspace and denied the request. Now, the State government will begin evaluating it options on the further course of action and what needs to be done,” a source has been quoted to say.

The proposed international airport, planned in Shoolagiri taluk between Berigai and Bagalur, is envisaged as a large-scale facility with a passenger handling capacity of 30 million.

The project would span nearly 2,300 acres and is being pursued by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). Once site clearance is secured, the State intends to seek in-principle approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

However, the defence clearance issue is not new. In June last year, the State government had sought airspace relaxation from the Ministry of Defence, a request that was declined.

Following this, in November, the Chief Secretary submitted a detailed explanation, including coordinates, to demonstrate that the airport could be developed without disrupting HAL’s operations.

Despite these efforts, the renewed rejection has caused disappointment within the State administration. “It is disappointing that the request has been denied even without a discussion. If a meeting was held between the Tamil Nadu Government and Ministry of Defence, the government could have had a chance to explain,” another source has been quoted to say.

Parallelly, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought an impact assessment after receiving the site clearance proposal from the State. According to officials, the study must examine whether the Hosur airport would have any effect on passenger traffic at existing airports in Bengaluru or Salem.

"The impact study has been asked to show if the proposed airport in Hosur will affect [passenger traffic] at the existing Bengaluru or Salem airports in any way. It has to be done by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation," another source has been quoted in the report.

Adding to the complexity is an existing agreement between the Bangalore International Airport Limited and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which restricts the development of another airport within a 150-km aerial radius of the Bengaluru airport, posing yet another challenge to the Hosur plan.