Bengaluru International Airport Ltd appoints Girish Nair as COO

Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), which operates Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), has appointed Girish Nair as its chief operating officer (COO).

Nair took charge on December 1, starting his second stint at BIAL. He was assistant vice president-head, airline marketing & aviation contracts, from 2010 to 2013.

Satyaki Raghunath, who served as COO between November 2023 and October 2025, will continue to support the airport as a consultant.

Also read: Bengaluru airport partners with KPMG to develop innovative Generative AI platform

As COO, Nair will manage airport operations, including daily operations, customer service, safety and security, corporate strategy and business development, traffic forecasting and slot coordination, airline marketing, route development, cargo, and aviation concessions, airport capacity and master planning and BIAL Innovation Lab, which drives digital transformation and analytics initiatives.

Nair is also expected to focus on technology initiatives, including leveraging generative AI.

BIAL earlier partnered with KPMG India to develop a platform aimed at transforming airport operations.

Before rejoining BIAL, Nair was with KPMG India for over three years, serving as partner, mobility & logistics, global lead - airports, and national lead-aviation.

He has also held key positions in the aviation sector, including chief commercial officer at GoAir (2013-2014) and general manager, international projects at Jet Airways (2001– 2010).