Visakhapatnam airport commercial operations to shift to Bhogapuram around August 15

Commercial flight operations at Visakhapatnam will shift from the present airport at INS Dega to the new Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district around mid-August 2026, two weeks after the airport is inaugurated on August 1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, will inaugurate the airport at 10 a.m.

Rituals and launch timeline

Preparations at the airport have been going on quietly over the past few weeks.

According to sources, Homam and Vastu Pooja rituals were performed inside the airport premises on June 30, July 1, and July 2 by the GMR family, without any public announcement. “Yes, some formal rituals were already performed by the family inside the airport a few weeks ago. Around August 15, the commercial operations are expected to begin,” the source told The Hindu.

On the operational timeline and current traffic, Airport Director N. Purushottam said preparations were going on independently of immediate scheduling notices. “There is no official communication from our head office regarding the continuation of flight services at the present airport. We are presently handling 30 flights, 60 operations (arrival and departure),” Mr. Purushottam told The Hindu.

Statutory clearances

The airport has secured its key operational clearances ahead of the commercial cut-off. These include the Aerodrome Licence issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation after a validation flight by an Air India Airbus A320, security clearances from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and notifications designating the airport as an Immigration Check Post and customs port.

The shift means changes for regular flyers, business commuters and residents travelling from areas like Madhurawada, who will now route their travel through multi-lane expressways and approach roads towards Vizianagaram district.

State authorities and transport departments are speeding up connectivity works, including planned expressways and approach roads, to ensure smooth passenger movement ahead of the August transition.

Phase-1 works and cost

Spread over 2,203 acres, the greenfield project has been built under a public-private partnership by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited. Developed at an estimated Phase-1 cost of ₹4,750 crore, with core civil works costing around ₹2,302 crore and land procurement and development crossing ₹877 crore, the airport is meant to ease capacity constraints.

The first phase has an integrated passenger terminal spread across 78,000 sq m, designed with architectural motifs reflecting regional heritage, and equipped to handle six million passengers a year. The master plan provides for scaling to 12 million passengers in Phase 2, 18 million in Phase 3, and eventually beyond 40 million. The air-side infrastructure has a 3,800-metre Code 4E runway, one of the longest in the country, capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with a 5,000-sq m cargo terminal.