KIA handled 22.6 million passengers in first six months of 2026

During the first six months of 2026, Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) handled 22.6 million passengers.

KIA, the third-largest airport in India after New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, handled domestic passenger traffic of 19.1 million and international passenger traffic of 3.5 million during the first half of 2026.

According to the second-quarter financial results of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, which holds a majority stake in Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of KIA, the airport recorded a year-on-year growth of 2.7% in domestic passenger traffic and 4.6% in international passenger traffic.

The results said that domestic passenger traffic continued to “demonstrate resilience, supported by increased capacity, improved connectivity, and sustained demand across key routes.”

However, “international passenger traffic growth moderated over the second quarter of 2026 primarily due to geopolitical uncertainties, including ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which contributed to higher fuel costs and weighed on travel demand and airline operations. However, the overall impact to BIAL is mitigated by the tariff-setting mechanism (designed to generate a regulated return) and healthy coverage metrics. BIAL entered its fourth control period (from April 1, 2026),” it said.

Due to the crisis in West Asia, some of the key international routes from KIA were affected — including Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai, and Doha for a short period. While Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the top two international destinations from KIA, flight services have since been restored to all destinations in the region.

KIA currently connects 32 international and around 80 domestic destinations, with 39 airline partners, including 16 freighters.