Planning (1991–2004)

The original airport serving Bengaluru was HAL Airport, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre. It was the primary airport in the city until 2008. Originally established in 1942 for military and defence purposes, HAL began domestic operations for the first time in the late 1970s. The unexpected popularity of newly offered domestic flights encouraged rapid expansion of the airport. In the late 1990s, the first international services began, with Air India flights to Singapore. In 2000, the first foreign carrier, Royal Nepal Airlines, commenced operations with flights to Kathmandu, followed by Lufthansa's A340 service to Germany a year later. Several other major international carriers such as British Airways and Air France started serving the old airport by 2005.

An expansion of the airport's international terminal was impossible, since there was no space in the surrounding environment, and the airport apron could only park six aircraft. In March 1991, former Chairman of the National Airports Authority of India (NAAI), S. Ramanathan, convened a panel to select a site for the new airport. The panel decided on Devanahalli, a village about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Bengaluru. The State Government drafted a proposal to build the airport with private assistance, which the Union Government approved in 1994. In 1995, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Government of Karnataka decided to call for international consortia to own, build and operate the new greenfield airport.

In December 1995, a consortium made up of the Tata Group, Raytheon and Singapore Changi Airport signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Government regarding participation in the project. In June 1998, however, the consortium announced it was pulling out of the project due to delays in government approval. These included disputes over the location of the new airport and the fate of HAL Airport.

In May 1999, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the project. It would be a public–private partnership, with AAI and KSIIDC holding a 26% share and private companies holding the remaining 74%. In January 2001, the State Government created the company Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) as a special purpose entity, and began searching for partners. By November, the project had attracted Zürich Airport, Siemens Project Ventures and Larsen & Toubro. Construction was expected to begin in October 2002; however, governmental delays persisted. The Union Cabinet approved the project in February 2000. The concession agreement between the State Government, the Union Government and BIAL was signed in July 2004, and it required the closure of HAL Airport.

It took nearly a decade to progress from the initial stages of land allocation and acquisition, to the signing of shareholder agreements in 2002 and the start of construction.

Design

When the project was initiated, BIAL anticipated traffic of approximately 5 million passengers per annum in the first few years of operations. However, the scale of air traffic growth in the city meant that the figure was already breached by 2008. It took more than 9 months to redesign the project and gain permission for expansion. By the time the approvals for the reworked project were sanctioned, construction was half completed. Despite the challenges, BIAL expected the airport to be operational by the initially proposed date of completion.

The revised increase in capacity catered to 11 million passengers per annum, more than doubling the previous estimates. BIAL's modified plan was to build a terminal with 8 passenger boarding bridges, 1 double arm aerobridge, 9 remote bus gates and a single, 4,000-metre (13,000 ft) long runway. BIAL also planned to build an apron with 42 Code-C aircraft stands (with 8 contact stands), as well as an air and land-side road system. The estimated cost for the entire project at the time was ₹1,930 crore (US$200 million).

Construction and opening (2005–2008)

Construction commenced on 2 July 2005, and was completed in 32 months. BIAL set the launch date for 30 March 2008. However, due to delays in establishing air traffic control services at the airport, the launch date was pushed to 11 May, and further to 24 May 2008.

Public criticism arose with the opening of the new airport, mainly due to the closure of HAL Airport. In March 2008, AAI employees initiated a massive strike against the closure of HAL Airport in Bengaluru and Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, fearing they would lose their jobs. The Bangalore City Connect Foundation, a group of citizens and businessmen, staged a rally in mid-May, claiming the new airport was too small for the latest demand projections. On 23 May, a hearing was held at the Karnataka High Court over poor connectivity between the city and the airport.