HAL Airport Reopening Needs BIAL Consent: Centre

23 Dec 2025 CW Team

The Union government has said that reopening the existing HAL Airport in Bengaluru for civilian operations would require the consent of Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), in line with the concession agreement governing Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

Informing the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the concession agreement between the Government of India and Bengaluru International Airport Limited stipulates that no new or existing airport—except for the development of Mysuru and Hassan as domestic airports—can be developed, improved, or upgraded within an aerial distance of 150 km of Kempegowda International Airport before the airport completes 25 years of operations.

The minister said that any proposal to develop a new airport within 150 km of KIA, or to reopen the existing HAL Airport for civilian use before its 25th anniversary in May 2033, would require BIAL’s consent under the provisions of the concession agreement. He was responding to a question from Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan.

On the proposal to set up a second greenfield international airport in Bengaluru, Mohol said the Airports Authority of India had conducted pre-feasibility studies for three potential sites at the request of the Karnataka government. The pre-feasibility report has been sent to the state, but the Ministry of Civil Aviation has not received any further communication on the matter.

Earlier, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya had said Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu had assured him that a stakeholders’ meeting would be convened to explore the possibility of reopening HAL Airport for civilian operations.

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