A trial run has been conducted on Karnataka’s newly built Shivamogga airport and an Indian Air Force aircraft landed at this airport on Tuesday. The airport is built under central government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik) scheme which is aimed to make air travel affordable for common man.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate this airport on February 27, and he will also lay foundation stones to the infrastructural projects in the state. Shivamogga’s MP BY Raghavendra took to social media and wrote, “The first trial flight lands at #Shivamogga. Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji to inaugurate the #ShivamoggaAirport on Feb 27 by landing on this newly constructed Airport. Come, let us all be a part of this historic moment.”

Initially, the Karnataka government decided to name Shivamogga airport after former chief minister and BJP’s senior leader BS Yediyurappa. In a meeting at Shivamogga, CM Bommai said that the airport is the result of Yediyurappa’s efforts when he was the chief minister of the state and said that the newest airport of the state should be named after him.
However, Yediyurappa has politely objected to the decision of the state government and suggested Kannada poet Kuvempu’s name for it. The government then named the airport as Kuvempu airport.