ngalore is served by Kempegowda International Airport (IATA: BLR, ICAO: VOBL), located at Devanahalli, about 40 km (25 mi) from the city centre. It was formerly called Bangalore International Airport. The airport started operations from 24 May 2008 and is a private airport managed by a consortium led by the GVK Group. The city was earlier served by the HAL Airport at Vimanapura, a residential locality in the eastern part of the city. The airport is third-busiest in India after Delhi and Mumbai in terms of passenger traffic and the number of air traffic movements (ATMs). Taxis and air conditioned Volvo buses operated by BMTC connect the airport with the city. Namma Metro (Rail) Namma Metro (Green line) A rapid transit system called the Namma Metro is being built in stages. Initially opened with the 7 km (4.3 mi) stretch from Baiyappanahalli to MG Road in 2011, phase 1 covering a distance of 42.30 km (26.28 mi) for the north–south and east–west lines was made operational in June 2017. Phase 2 of the metro covering 72.1 km (44.8 mi) is under construction and includes two new lines along with the extension of the existing north–south and east–west lines. There are also plans to extend the north–south line to the airport, covering a distance of 29.6 km (18.4 mi). It is expected to be operatio