(Image source from: Bangalore International Airport has a new name})

The Bangalore International Airport (BIA) has a new name now.

After five brief years of its existence, the union cabinet on Wednesday decided to re-christen the Bangalore airport after Kempe Gowda, the founder of the city. The Bangalore International Airport will be now known as Kempe Gowda International Airport, the state government declared.

Bangalore was founded by Kempe Gowda around 500 years ago. Legend has it that the city was earlier called as 'Benda Kaaluru' (Baked bean town). Over the time, the city came to be called as 'Bengaluru', and later 'Bangalore'.

The first Bangalore airport, hosted by the HAL (defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd), was located at the city center until the new  International airport came up at Devanahalli in 2008, about 40  km from the main city.

Almost tow years ago, on December 2011, the two houses of Karnataka legislature passed a resolution, asking the central government to rename the airport after its founder.

AW: Suchorita Dutta