KARNATAKA TRAVEL GUIDE ยท UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
Airports in Karnataka: Which One to Fly Into, and What Actually Flies There
All nine airports that recorded scheduled passengers in 2025-26, how far each sits from its city, the airport to pick for every major trip, and the regional airports that look good on a map but are unreliable in practice.
Quick answer: which airport should you fly into?
Fly into Bengaluru (BLR) unless your trip is on the coast or in the north. Choose Mangaluru (IXE) for Udupi, Dharmasthala and the southern coast, and Hubballi (HBX) or Belagavi (IXG) for north Karnataka. Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Bidar and Jindal Vijayanagar have only a few flights each, and several have been cut back or suspended, so treat them as a bonus and never as the backbone of a plan.
Karnataka has far more airports than it has flights. Bengaluru handled about 4.45 crore passengers in April 2025 to March 2026, and it is the only airport in the state with a wide domestic and international network. Mangaluru handled about 25.5 lakh. Every other airport handled under 4 lakh, and the smallest barely registers. That imbalance decides almost every routing question on this page.
Passenger figures below are Airports Authority of India (AAI) numbers for April 2025 to March 2026, as compiled on each airport’s Wikipedia page. Those pages list airlines and routes without dates, so read the route columns as who is likely to fly, then check the airline’s booking page for real schedules. Karnataka Tourism publishes its own list of eight airports with scheduled flights, but its airline names are out of date, so we have not relied on it. For official airport information, start with the Airports Authority of India and, for Bengaluru, Bengaluru Airport.
The nine airports at a glance
| Airport | Distance from city | Passengers 2025-26 | Carriers and routes listed | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru (BLR) | 35 km north, near Devanahalli | 4,44,70,035 (+6.2%) | Full network; international flights from Terminal 2 | Two 4,000 m runways. Domestic flights use Terminal 1 |
| Mangaluru (IXE) | About 13 km north-east, at Bajpe | 25,48,088 (+8.8%) | Air India Express and IndiGo: Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Gulf cities | Hilltop airport. Prepaid taxi counter runs round the clock |
| Hubballi (HBX) | 8 km from Hubballi, 20 km from Dharwad | 3,76,286 (+8.6%) | IndiGo: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune. Fly91: Bengaluru, Hyderabad | Chennai listed as resuming from 25 October 2026. New terminal due by end of 2026 |
| Belagavi (IXG) | At Sambra, outside the city | 3,01,516 (-11.4%) | IndiGo: Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai. Star Air: Mumbai | Shared with the Air Force. New terminal also due by end of 2026 |
| Shivamogga (RQY) | 8.8 km at Sogane | 1,81,587 (+54.6%) | Star Air: Goa (Mopa), Hyderabad, Tirupati | Opened 2023. The airport for Jog Falls and the Sharavathi valley |
| Mysuru (MYQ) | About 8 km south, at Mandakalli | 91,739 (-3.3%) | IndiGo: Chennai, Hyderabad | No Bengaluru flight listed. A KSRTC bus links the city bus stand to the airport |
| Bidar (IXX) | Civil enclave inside an Air Force station | 29,479 | Star Air: Bengaluru | Flights stopped on 26 December 2023 and have since returned in limited form |
| Jindal Vijayanagar (VDY) | About 30 km from Ballari, at Toranagallu | 16,801 (-63.7%) | Alliance Air: Bengaluru, Hyderabad. Star Air: Bengaluru | Owned by JSW Steel. Nearest airport to Hampi, but thin |
| Kalaburagi (GBI) | 12 km east | 13,966 (-54.8%) | Star Air: Bengaluru | A June 2026 report said the Bengaluru service would resume on 10 June, so it had been suspended |
Two comparisons in the table tell the story. Hubballi grew 8.6% and Belagavi fell 11.4%, but both still handled around 3 lakh passengers, while Kalaburagi and Jindal Vijayanagar each lost more than half their traffic in a single year. Check the current month’s schedule before you buy a ticket to any airport below Belagavi in the table.
Which airport for which trip
Pick the airport by where you will sleep on night one, not by the nearest dot on a map. A road leg of three hours from a well-served airport usually beats a one-hour leg from an airport with one flight a day.
| Trip | Best airport | Ground leg | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mysuru, Srirangapatna, Brindavan | Bengaluru | Expressway of about 118 km, or the KSRTC Flybus from the airport | Mysuru's own airport has no Bengaluru flight listed. See the Mysuru guide |
| Coorg (Kodagu) | Bengaluru, Mysuru or Mangaluru | Madikeri is about 250 km from Bengaluru, about 120 km from Mysuru and about 135 km from Mangaluru | Coorg has no railway station. Plan the road leg with the Coorg 3-day itinerary |
| Chikkamagaluru and Sakleshpur | Bengaluru or Mangaluru | Road, several hours either way | Compare fares into both. Our Chikmagalur guide covers the drive |
| Mangaluru, Udupi, Dharmasthala, Kukke Subramanya | Mangaluru | Road, prepaid taxis from the airport | See Dharmasthala, Udupi and Mangaluru beaches |
| Gokarna and Karwar | Goa's Dabolim, or Hubballi | Dabolim is about 91 km from Karwar and Gokarna is about 56 km beyond Karwar, so roughly 145 km (our arithmetic). Hubballi to Karwar is about 165 km | No Karnataka airport serves this coast directly. See Gokarna beaches |
| Jog Falls, Sharavathi valley, Agumbe | Shivamogga, or Bengaluru | Road | Shivamogga flights are few. See Jog Falls |
| Hampi | Bengaluru, then train or bus | Overnight train or bus to Hosapete | Jindal Vijayanagar is the closest airport but lost 63.7% of its traffic in 2025-26. Read how to reach Hampi from Bangalore |
| Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal | Hubballi, or Belagavi | Road, several hours | Hubballi has the wider route list. See Badami |
| Vijayapura (Gol Gumbaz) | Hubballi, Belagavi or the train | Road or rail | The Vijayapura airport was still listed as under construction in the sources we checked. See Gol Gumbaz |
| Bidar and Kalaburagi | Hyderabad, or the local flight to Bengaluru | Hyderabad is roughly 140 km from Bidar (approximate) | Local flights are thin. See Bidar Fort |
| Bannerghatta, Nandi Hills, Bengaluru day trips | Bengaluru | Cab or Vayu Vajra bus | Pair with weekend getaways from Bangalore |
Getting from Bengaluru airport into the city and beyond
Distance35 km from the city centreDomesticTerminal 1InternationalTerminal 2
Pick the right terminal first
Terminal 1 is domestic only. Terminal 2, which opened in November 2022, has handled all international flights since 12 September 2023. Check the terminal on your ticket before you tell a cab driver where to go, because the two are not interchangeable on arrival.
Buses, rail and metro
BMTC’s Vayu Vajra air-conditioned buses are listed as running 24 hours to Majestic, Electronic City, Whitefield, Indiranagar, MG Road and Hebbal, with pick-up zones at both terminals. A rail halt near the airport has operated since January 2021 with shuttle buses to the terminals. A metro line to the airport was listed as under construction, with opening planned in phases between June and December 2026. We could not confirm that it is running, so check the metro operator’s announcements before you rely on it.
Straight on to Mysuru
KSRTC runs a non-stop Flybus between the airport and Mysuru. The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway is about 118 km, so the drive from the city is roughly 90 minutes of driving time before traffic. From Mysuru, the Mysore Palace and Chamundi Hills are the first stops.
Why regional flights in Karnataka are unreliable
Many of the smaller airports depend on subsidised regional routes, and the routes come and go. Bidar’s flights began on 7 February 2020 under the central regional connectivity scheme. Funding support was extended to 3 December 2023 and the last flight left on 26 December 2023, leaving the airport idle for months until limited service returned. Kalaburagi handled 85,371 passengers in 2021-22 and 13,966 in 2025-26. Jindal Vijayanagar fell from 43,140 passengers in 2023-24 to 16,801 in 2025-26. Shivamogga is the counter-example: it grew from 39,040 passengers in its first, part-year 2023-24 to 1,81,587 in 2025-26.
The practical lesson is to treat any airport below Belagavi in the table as unproven. Use these rules:
- Book refundable or flexible fares, and re-check the schedule a week before you travel.
- Keep a train or bus fallback on the same day. Our guide to scenic train journeys in Karnataka covers the routes worth knowing.
- Do not stack a tight connection behind a regional leg. Leave a half-day buffer before an international departure from Bengaluru.
- For two small airports in one trip, fly into one and leave from the other only if you have checked both schedules for your exact dates.
Airports that are planned but not open
Several new airports are announced, built partly, or stalled. The details below come from a July 2024 regional-airport report, so some may have moved on by now. Do not plan a trip around any of them until an airline is selling tickets.
| Airport | Status in the source | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Vijayapura | Under construction | Foundation laid February 2021, about 727 acres near Madhabavi, about 80% built in mid-2024, awaiting equipment and regulatory inspections |
| Hassan | Under construction | About 536 acres near Boovanahalli, runway built, terminal and tower unfinished, completion was expected in 2025 |
| Raichur | Planned | About 400 acres, waiting for a national site clearance |
| Ballari (new) | Planned | About 987 acres near Chaganur, still at the project-report stage |
| Karwar | Naval air station proposed | Civil use was approved in principle on condition the runway is extended. No civil start date has been announced |
Airport or train? How to decide
Karnataka’s tourist centres are mostly one long road leg from the nearest railhead or airport, so flying saves less time than it seems. In our view, a flight beats the road within the state only for Bengaluru to Mangaluru, Hubballi or Belagavi, where the drive is long. For Mysuru, Hampi and Chikkamagaluru the rail and road links usually win, and the expressway has made Mysuru a short drive from Bengaluru. If you are flying in from outside the state, book into Bengaluru or Mangaluru, then use the ground leg that matches your itinerary. The Karnataka 7-day itinerary and the 5-day itinerary are both built around a Bengaluru arrival, and best time to visit Karnataka will tell you which month to book.
Travelling in July or August? Read Karnataka in monsoon for ghat-road and landslide warnings before you choose your ground leg.
Airports in Karnataka: frequently asked questions
How many airports are there in Karnataka?
Nine civil airports recorded scheduled passengers in 2025-26: Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Bidar, Jindal Vijayanagar and Kalaburagi. Others, including Vijayapura, Hassan and Raichur, are planned or under construction.
Which airports in Karnataka are international?
Bengaluru (Kempegowda International) and Mangaluru. Bengaluru handles nearly all of the state’s long-haul traffic, and Mangaluru mainly serves Gulf and domestic routes.
What is the nearest airport to Hampi?
Jindal Vijayanagar at Toranagallu, about 30 km from Ballari. It has only a few flights, and its traffic fell 63.7% in 2025-26. Most visitors fly into Bengaluru and take an overnight train or bus to Hosapete.
What is the nearest airport to Coorg?
Coorg has no airport. Mysuru is about 120 km from Madikeri and Mangaluru about 135 km, but Bengaluru, about 250 km away, has far more flights. Mysuru airport lists only Chennai and Hyderabad.
Which airport is best for Gokarna?
No Karnataka airport serves Gokarna directly. Goa’s Dabolim airport is about 91 km from Karwar, and Gokarna is about 56 km beyond Karwar. Hubballi is the in-state alternative, about 165 km from Karwar.
Does Bidar airport have commercial flights?
Limited ones. Flights began in February 2020, stopped on 26 December 2023 when subsidy support ended, and AAI recorded 29,479 passengers in 2025-26, so some service has returned. The airport sits inside an Air Force station. Check the airline before booking.
How far is Bengaluru airport from the city, and what is the cheapest way in?
The airport is 35 km north of the city centre. BMTC Vayu Vajra buses run 24 hours to major hubs including Majestic, Electronic City and Whitefield. Cabs are faster at night and cost more.
Is there a flight from Bengaluru to Mysuru?
Not in the route lists we checked: Mysuru airport lists IndiGo flights to Chennai and Hyderabad only. Use the expressway, a train or the KSRTC Flybus from Bengaluru airport instead.
Keep exploring Karnataka
Once you have your airport, choose the trip: best places to visit in Karnataka, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hill stations and beaches. Flying in from the north? Read Belagavi and Dharwad first.
Flight schedules, route lists and airport projects change often. Treat this page as a planning map and confirm with the airline and the Airports Authority of India before you travel.