[17] In 2000, the first foreign carrier, Royal Nepal Airlines, commenced operations with flights to Kathmandu, followed by Lufthansa's A340 service a year later to Germany.

[18] However, as Bengaluru grew and passenger traffic to the city rose, HAL Airport's single runway setup and limited aircraft parking space was unable to cope.

[23] In December 1995, a consortium made up of the Tata Group, Raytheon and Singapore Changi Airport signed a memorandum of understanding with the State Government regarding participation in the project.

[20][24] In May 1999, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the project.

[22] In January 2001, the State Government created the company Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) as a special purpose entity and began searching for partners.

BIAL's modified plan was to build a terminal with eight passengers boarding bridges, one double arm aerobridge, nine remote bus gates and a 4,000 metre long runway featuring efficient taxiways.

[33][34] However, due to delays in establishing air traffic control services at the airport, the launch date was pushed to 11 May[35] and further to 24 May 2008.

[37] 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.

[55] In October 2019, Ethiopian Airlines began flights to Addis Ababa with Boeing 737 MAXs, marking the first nonstop connection between Bengaluru and Africa.

[61][62] The approximately ₹4,000 crore (US$460 million) project received clearance from India's Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in September 2014.

[citation needed] In January 2018, GVK decided to sell its remaining 10% in shares to Fairfax India Holdings for ₹1,290 crore (US$150 million), and exited BIAL completely.

[65] 26% of shares are held by government entities Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (13%) and Airports Authority of India (13%).

[66][67][68] In March 2021, the Airports Authority of India announced their intention to sell their 13% stake in order to raise funds.

[85] Named "080" after the trunk dial code of the city, the new lounge aims to pay an ode to the culture of Bengaluru with local artistry, regional culture-inspired interiors and botanical elements.

[86] The airport's second terminal was designed as a tribute to the "Garden City" title of Bengaluru by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and was constructed by Larsen & Toubro.

The first phase of Terminal 2 features 95 check-in counters, 17 security lanes, 9 baggage claim belts, 34 conventional and 6 electronic immigration gates.

[93] In October 2008, IndianOil commissioned a 36-kilometre (22 mi) fuel pipeline between its storage terminal in Devanagonthi and Kempegowda International Airport.

Previously, jet fuel had to be transported to the airport using tank trucks, which created traffic and pollution problems.

One is operated by AISATS (Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services) Ltd. and includes a facility for storing pharmaceuticals.

[100] On 4 September 2019, India's biggest airline IndiGo announced that it would extend its learning academy, iFly, to Bengaluru, its 2nd such facility in the country.

[104] Aligning with their vision to establish a hub at the airport, Air India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in February 2024 to build Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities at Kempegowda International Airport, for airframe maintenance of both wide-body and narrow-body jets, including heavy structural checks.

[106] Food services provider SATS set up their first central kitchen in India at the airport, a 14,000-square-metre (150,690 sq ft) facility, with an investment of ₹210 crore (US$24 million), to cater to the demand in the region.

[107][108] As part of the airport's master plan, Phase 2 of Terminal 2 will be completed to add an additional capacity of 20 million passengers per annum.

[109] The final phase of the master plan involves identifying a location for Terminal 3, though this is expected only in the late 2020s or the early 2030s, depending on passenger traffic.

[112][113] As of October 2024, the design for the airport's new western cross-field taxiway is almost complete, with civil works set to begin in the first quarter of 2025.

Approximately 0.87-mile (1.4 km) in length, the two parallel taxiways will link the airport's two runways on the western side of the airfield and will be able to accommodate Code-F aircraft.

In January 2014, a six-lane flyover was completed over NH44 between Hebbal and the airport, helping to reduce travel time to and from the city.

[240] Additionally, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operates a nonstop bus service called "Flybus" between Kempegowda International Airport and Mysore, as well as a route to Manipal via Mangalore.

[247] The plan to build a metro link between Bengaluru and its airport was revived in 2020, and is now under construction as part of the Blue Line.

[250] Bengaluru-based startup Sarla Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BIAL to establish "air taxi" operations between Electronic City in Bengaluru South and the airport using eVTOL aircraft.