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Air India and BIAL join hands to develop Bengaluru airport as a major hub; MRO facility to also come up

Tata group airlines will be working with Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) to develop Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport as a “premier aviation hub for southern India” with a special focus on boosting international flights from India’s information technology capital over the coming years.

As part of the initiative, the Tata group’s flagship carrier Air India will also be developing a comprehensive maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at the Bengaluru airport.

“Air India, along with other Tata Group airlines—AIX (Air India Express) and Vistara, and BIAL will collaborate to enhance international connectivity, operational efficiency, and passenger experience over the next five years… This includes strengthening the group’s presence at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru through an enhanced network and establishing a dedicated domestic lounge for premium and frequent travellers of Tata Group airlines Air India and Vistara,” Air India and BIAL said in a joint release after inking an agreement on Monday (April 8).

The bulk of Air India and Vistara’s international operations are from the larger and busier airports at Delhi and Mumbai. Air India also has some long-haul services from Bengaluru, which is India’s third-largest airport in terms of passenger footfall.

The Tata group’s budget airline Air India Express already has a dense network in Bengaluru, which is one of its major focus cities. With the Tata group consolidating its airline business by merging full-service carriers Air India and Vistara, & budget carriers Air India Express and AIX Connect, the carriers’ networks are also likely to see significant synergies.

As part of this initiative, Air India also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka government to develop an MRO facility at the Bengaluru airport.

“This underscores Air India’s commitment to strengthening its presence in Bengaluru and over time, expand its global footprint to meet the growing demand for direct long-haul routes originating from Southern India. This partnership will stimulate the MRO ecosystem and is projected to generate over 1,200 new job opportunities for highly skilled individuals in the state,” the release said.

Air India’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO and MD) described Bengaluru as a “highly attractive” origin and destination market as well as a connecting hub, saying that airport-airline synergy is key to enhanced passenger experience as well as efficient operations.

“As the busiest airport in South India, BLR Airport is dedicated to strengthening its position as the primary international gateway in Southern and Central India. This collaboration aligns perfectly with the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s vision of developing Indian airports as hubs, reflecting our commitment to enhancing the passenger experience. Given that over half of the international outbound travellers from Bengaluru and our catchment head to Europe, North America, Australia, and the Far East, our alliance with Air India represents a substantial leap towards this goal,” said BIAL’s MD and CEO Hari Marar.

At present, Air India is the only Indian airline operating long-haul flights, and further expansion of its long-haul network appears to be a key focus area for the airline over the next few years. In that regard, Air India’s plans seem to be aligned with the government’s vision to develop major Indian airports as large aviation hubs with significant traffic of transfer passengers.