In addition to domestic destinations, flights depart daily for major cities in the Middle East.

The airport was named Bajpe Aerodrome, when it opened on 25 December 1951[2] by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who arrived on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft.

The operation of international flights started in 2006 with Air India Express flying to Dubai.

[11] Until 2005, the small 1,600 m (5,249 ft) runway meant the airport could only handle Boeing 737-400 size aircraft.

[16] In July 2019, the central government approved leasing of the airport through public-private partnership (PPP) to the Adani Enterprises, for operations, management and development for the next 50 years.

[23] The airport has acquired land to build a taxiway parallel to the new runway to reduce aircraft turnaround time.

[24] Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel announced on 15 May 2010 that a work order for extending the runway to 2,740 metres (9,000 ft) would be issued soon.

[25] After the crash of Air India Express Flight 812, the minister reaffirmed on 30 May 2010 that the runway extension will take place and will take into account the spillover area required during an emergency.

[35] The construction of a new air traffic control (ATC) tower was completed in June 2014,[36] and commissioned for one-month trial on 19 January 2015.

[38] This system processes radar feeds from Bangalore, Chennai, and Thiruvananthapuram and displays them at Mangalore.

[39] In 2011 and 2012 chartered flights landed at Mangalore International Airport and carried passengers from the old terminal building.

[13] The Mangalore Airport Director announced on 28 January 2016 that the Airports Authority of India have handed over 1,600 square metres (17,000 sq ft) of space at the old terminal building to the Indian Coast Guard to set up an air station for its air operations.