​Karnataka's industries minister MB Patil asks his team to prepare blueprint for Bengaluru's second airport to deal with future growth

With Bengaluru’s international airport breaching projections in traffic volumes, the State Government has set the ball rolling on planning a second airport to deal with the future growth.

Industry & Infrastructure Minister MB Patil, who chaired a meeting with the infrastructure department officials, asked them to submit a feasibility report for a new airport, saying it was critical to develop an industrial ecosystem beyond Bengaluru.

The Kempe Gowda International Airport, operated by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has been the third busiest airport in the country after Delhi and Mumbai.

The airport recorded the highest-ever passenger traffic with 37.5 million travelers in the year 2023-24 and handled 439,524 metric tonnes of cargo.

A second airport was needed to efficiently manage the expected increase in both passenger traffic and freight volumes in the coming years, the minister said in a statement.

In 1999, when the project was awarded to the Siemens-led consortium, the contract term stipulated that the union government cannot allow a second airport within a radius of 150 kilometers till 2033. With nine years to go for the clause to cease, it was time for the government to begin planning a second airport for the fast-expanding city, Patil said.

The current international airport, according to him, is projected to reach its peak passenger handling capacity by 2033 and its maximum cargo handling capacity by 2040.

Considering that land acquisition and compensation for landowners take a significant amount of time, Patil stressed the need to begin work on the second airport immediately.

Infrastructure department secretary N Manjula, Karnataka Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation MD BC Satisha and Karnataka State Industrial Investment & Development Corporation executive director DP Prakasha were present at the meeting.