Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport to get new ATC tower to manage rising flight movements

The moves comes as aircraft movement at the airport has been increasing steadily due to expanded capacity and improved domestic and international connectivity.

Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is preparing for a major upgrade as plans move forward for the construction of a new air traffic control (ATC) tower. The moves comes as aircraft movement at the airport has been increasing steadily due to expanded capacity and improved domestic and international connectivity.

Bengaluru recently overtook Mumbai in domestic aircraft movements.

When KIA first began operations, its ATC tower was designed to manage a single runway on the 4,000-acre campus. Since then, the airport has grown considerably. A second runway and Terminal 2 are now fully functional, and the airport handles about 750 flights a day. With this rapid expansion, the current 18-year-old ATC tower is nearing its operational limits, as per a report by The Times of India (TOI).

To support future growth and ease pressure on the existing system, Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has invited tenders for designing and developing a new ATC tower. The facility is expected to be commissioned by 2027. A senior airport official told TOI, that the present tower requires modernisation with updated technology and infrastructure, and a second operational tower is needed to manage the heavy traffic while upgrade work is under way. The tendering process will take time before being finalised.

Bengaluru recently overtook Mumbai in domestic aircraft movements. In October, KIA recorded 20,819 domestic flights, slightly higher than Mumbai’s 20,540. However, Mumbai continued to handle more passengers, with 32 lakh compared to Bengaluru’s 31 lakh.

KIA, which served 4.3 crore passengers in 2024, is currently undergoing large-scale development to meet future demands. BIAL’s long-term plan aims to expand capacity to 11.4 crore passengers a year, with the new ATC tower forming a crucial part of this upgrade.