Bengaluru is currently connected to five European cities: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Munich with flights operated by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Lufthansa. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), plans to expand its international connectivity to several destinations in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and Europe.
Girish Nair, Chief Operating Officer, BIAL, said, “We are looking at several long-haul destinations in the APAC region, one of which is a destination in South Korea.”
“There is good demand for South Korea, especially with Kia (a South Korean multinational car manufacturer). I’m surprised we still don’t have flights from Bengaluru to South Korea because the numbers are really good,” Nair told The Hindu.
Proximity to Kia
BIAL is looking to capitalize on airports near Kia’s manufacturing facility near Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh and the nearest Penukonda International Airport is KIA, which is just over 100 km by road.
Mr. Nair also said that BIAL was in talks with several international airlines to start operations in several European cities.
“There are several destinations in Europe where we feel we need connectivity. We have some negotiations lined up and when that’s done we’ll make an announcement,” he said.
Bengaluru is currently connected to five European cities: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Munich with flights operated by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Lufthansa.
As of December 31, 2025, KIA was connected to 34 international cities.
New international routes to Dammam, Ho Chi Minh City, Krabi, Hanoi and Riyadh were added in 2025.
Connectivity to the US
Indeed, connectivity to the US has not taken off from Bengaluru as US carriers have been unable to operate direct flights from US cities to Bengaluru due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In February 2020, American Airlines announced the launch of Seattle-Bengaluru flight service, scheduled to begin in October 2020. Later, United Airlines announced that it would begin nonstop flights between Bengaluru and San Francisco by spring 2021.
However, the outbreak of COVID-19 led to the postponement of services and the later Russian invasion of Ukraine affected their plans to start flight services to Bengaluru.
Air India, which is the only airline operating from Bengaluru to the US, has also announced that it will end non-stop Bengaluru-San Francisco flights from March 1.
“US airlines are still looking very seriously at India, but until the airspace closures are resolved, we may not be able to start flights. We are talking to several US carriers. I don’t want to name them, but right now the environment is not very favorable for them to start direct flights,” Mr Nair said.
Published – 05 Feb 2026 21:16 IST
