Bengaluru: The state-run public transport corporation on Monday launched a non-stop luxury bus service to connect the holy Hindu town Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru airport.

"The service will ferry domestic and international passengers to and from Tirupathi to the airport in 5 hours both ways," Karnataka State Road Transport Corp (KSRTC) official R. Girish told IANS here.

The average distance between the destinations is about 280 km. The 'Flybus' service will operate twice a day from the airport -- at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., reaching Tirupathi at 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. The bus will leave Tirupathi at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m, and reach the airport at 4 p.m. and 2 a.m.

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"As the world-famous Hindu god Venkateshwara and his consort Padmavathi temple attract thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad, the service will facilitate them to reach Tirupathi at the earliest and catch return or connecting flights from Bengaluru conveniently," said Girish.

The corporation operates similar services for air passengers to and from Mysuru, Madikeri, Mangaluru and Kundapura in Karnataka and Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu daily.

As the country's third largest airport, the Kempegowda airport had handled 80 lakh passengers in the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2018-19) after registering 269 lakh passenger movements in fiscal 2017-18.

(IANS)