An Indian Air Force plane safely landed at the newly-built Shivamogga Airport in Karnataka on Tuesday, as part of a trial ahead of its inauguration, authorities said. The greenfield domestic airport at Sogane in Shivamogga district has been constructed under the Centre's UDAN scheme which aims to make air travel affordable to all.

Sharing the information on his Twitter handle with the video clip of the aircraft landing at the airport, Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra said, "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."

PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport on February 27. The well-equipped airport is spread over 662.38 acres of land. The foundation for the airport was laid in June 2020 by former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Apart from the runway, terminal building, ATC tower and fire station building, it has a taxiway, apron, approach road, peripheral road and compound wall. The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 384 crore and the airport is expected to be one of the biggest in the state.

The design of Shivamogga airport had resulted in a controversy as the 3D blueprint of the design for the terminal building resembled a lotus.