The Centre indicated that it still awaits a formal proposal from the Karnataka government concerning the second international airport for Bengaluru. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already undertaken a pre-feasibility study for three potential sites.
In a written statement, Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol mentioned, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has conducted a pre-feasibility study for three proposed locations – Kanakapura Road, Kunigal Road, and a site in Bengaluru North, and has submitted the report to the Karnataka government.”
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has completed pre-feasibility studies for three sites for Bengaluru’s second airport and submitted the report to the Government of Karnataka. The Union Government has not received any proposal thereafter from the State Government. pic.twitter.com/QmSyOmaxrl
— P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) July 27, 2026
Mohol stated that the next step involves the Karnataka government or an airport developer submitting a formal proposal to the Centre under the Greenfield Airports Policy. To date, no such proposal has been received.
Earlier this year, Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil announced that the state government had asked firms to create a detailed feasibility and strategy report following AAI’s site inspections.
The government also noted that there is no established timeline for finalizing the feasibility study or issuing approvals.
A further reason for potential delays in the project is that Bengaluru’s existing Kempegowda International Airport still has sufficient capacity for expansion. Currently, the airport can handle 51.5 million passengers annually, while the average daily footfall for FY 2026-27 is around 123,800.
The Centre mentioned that Terminal 2 is anticipated to boost the airport’s annual capacity to 80 million passengers by 2030. Phase 2 of the expansion will also increase capacity from 25 million passengers to 45 million passengers. Additionally, the Centre highlighted that airports are typically expanded only when passenger traffic reaches certain thresholds. Given that Kempegowda Airport is still under expansion, the government may not perceive an immediate necessity to accelerate the second airport project.
