[6] It is owned and operated by the Lucknow International Airport Limited (LIAL), a public–private consortium led by Adani Group.

[9] It was inaugurated by the then Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh, and granted international status on 19 May 2012.

It covers an area of 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft) with two aerobridges, and is equipped with all basic and modern facilities and amenities.

[13] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused shortage of labour and slowdowns in work, it got delayed, and was expected to be completed by December 2023.

An elevated four-lane approach road corridor links Terminals 2 and 3 with the city through National Highway 27 (NH-27), which connects Lucknow with Kanpur, of 6,646 m2 (71,540 sq ft) covering about 1.8 km (1.1 mi).

[16] As per the agreement, the airports would be handed to the company for a period of 50 years at the highest bid of ₹ 171 per passenger.

The company will pay the per-passenger fee (PPF) to the AAI for every domestic and international passenger handled at the airport.

It has an ILS CAT IIIB capability on the eastern threshold, which enables landing in low visibility and abnormal weather conditions.

It will have new ground lights for aircraft operations, introduction of three new link taxiways and extension of the runway end safety area (RESA).

[21] Other facilities include in-line baggage handling systems, conveyor belts, booking counters, immigration and emigration counters, check-in kiosks, CCTVs, washrooms, ATMs, restaurants, lounges, multiple retail stores and souvenir shops, lost and found service, free WiFi, prayer rooms, child care facilities, cargo services, medical and emergency facilities, facilities for physically challenged passengers, duty free, porter service, foreign exchange counters and tourist information desks.

[22] The original terminal, built in 1986 to cater government and private officials and flights, has been designed to complement the architecture of Lucknow Charbagh railway station.

Renowned for its design, the terminal's elevation to the sky resembles the folded wings of a paper plane.

The design of the building does not labour to represent the culture and heritage of the city, instead gets imprinted with the architects' own experiences of nightmares about an aircraft crashing down through the roof, the exhilaration of flight, lightness, the indented front of the city as it wraps around the Gomti River and the ruins of the British Residency after the mutiny of 1857.

Frosted etchings on the glass façade of the building bear the intricate patterns of Chikankari, the famous embroidery work of Lucknow.

The terminal's architecture will endeavour to express the position of Lucknow as a key city and will display the traditional culture and heritage of Uttar Pradesh.

The building is also provided with interior decorations to match the modern structure and enhance passenger experience.

The facility has increased the cargo handling capacity of the airport by 40 per cent to 7000 tonnes per year.

At present, e-commerce, courier, post office mails, general cargo, valuables, mobile phones, and perishables are exported as well as imported at the airport.

It lies on the Lucknow - Kanpur Suburban Railway Line and is 7 km (4.3 mi) from the airport.