To do a pre-feasibility study for Bengaluru’s second airport, a team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited the nominated locations in April 2025.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which recently evaluated possible locations for a second international airport in the state capital, is anticipated to give its report in two to three days, Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil said on October 23.
“The Cabinet will talk about it and take additional measures after this,” he said.
There is a 2033 deadline for building a second airport, Patil told reporters. However, the airport may be finished by then provided the required procedures are started right once. It takes at least five to six years to build an airport,” he remarked.
Three possible locations—Chudahalli and Somanahalli on Kanakapura Road and one on Nelamangala–Kunigal Road—were selected, according to a previous Moneycontrol investigation. An AAI team visited these sites in April 2025 to carry out a pre-feasibility study for the second airport in Bengaluru.
The AAI has already received Rs 1.21 crore from the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) to conduct the feasibility study. In reaction to Tamil Nadu’s proposal to build an international airport at Hosur, near the Karnataka border, the state has chosen to expedite the project.
“AAI is able to approve both of the locations it has examined. On one side, we may also provide 5,000–6,000 acres of land. However, private businesses take things like economic viability into account. “I am well aware that this is a challenging assignment,” Patil said.
At the moment, the only cities with two airports are Mumbai and New Delhi. Additionally, we will confer with the firms who built such airports,” he said. The Tamil Nadu government is also looking at the possibilities of constructing an airport in Hosur, Patil said.
“MLAs from North Karnataka are asking for an airport near Tumkur, while others advise the southern area of Bengaluru,” Patil remarked in reference to geographical concerns. We will consider passenger volume, business requirements, and general convenience. This ruling does not raise any issues of arbitrariness.
Bangalore International Airport Limited’s (BIAL) exclusivity clause, which prohibits the construction of a second airport within 150 kilometers, expires in 2032, opening the door for a possible second airport by 2033.
As you may remember, owing to land limitations, the state government had previously turned down a request for a third runway at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Furthermore, in 2008, KIA opened for business at Devanahalli, closing the city center’s HAL Airport for commercial use. At the moment, only military, charter, and VIP planes utilize HAL Airport.