The foundation stone for the Kota-Bundi Greenfield Airport was laid on March 7, 2026, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (via video conferencing), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, and Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu. The project marks a significant infrastructure investment in south-eastern Rajasthan.

Key project parameters: Total cost ₹1,507 crore; design capacity 2 million passengers per annum (MPPA); runway length 3,200 metres, suitable for A-321 type aircraft; 7 aircraft apron bays; to be developed as a greenfield airport (i.e., built on a new site rather than expanding an existing airport).

The airport is located near Kota and will serve the Kota-Bundi-Baran-Jhalawar belt — a region nationally recognised as India's largest coaching hub for engineering (JEE) and medical (NEET) examinations. Kota alone hosts over 1.5 lakh students annually. Improved air connectivity is expected to benefit students, parents, and the education economy of the region, while also promoting tourism to the Bundi Palace, Chambal ravines, and Hadoti heritage sites.

The project is part of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme's RCS-Airport development thrust and aligns with the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 goal of operationalising 100 airports by 2024 (revised to 220 by 2025 under the AAI expansion plan). Rajasthan currently has operational commercial airports at Jaipur (JAI), Jodhpur (JDH), Udaipur (UDR), and Jaisalmer. Kota adds to the pipeline.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who represents the Kota constituency, has long championed this project. The airport is expected to reduce the current travel burden — Kota is approximately 250 km from Jaipur by road.