The airport at Kuvempu or Shivamogga is prepared to open for business on August 11. BY Raghavendra, a Lok Sabha member, told reporters that flights between Shivamogga and Bengaluru will begin on August 11 with Indigo Airlines.

Much of the civil works, according to airport officials, have been finished. Only some aesthetic work is still to be done.

On February 27, in advance of the state elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the airport, which bears the name Kuvempu of the renowned Kannada poet and Jnanpith Awardee Kuvempu. The airport was originally going to be named after Yediyurappa, but he declined and suggested Kuvempu instead. The airport was viewed as a present for BJP leader Yediyurappa because it was also opened on his birthday.