A CUTOVER RATHER THAN AN OPENING

Air India has announced that all its flights operating to and from Visakhapatnam now operate from the new Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, under the same airport code VTZ, with effect from 17 August 2026. The airline will continue to operate 14 weekly flights between Bhogapuram and Delhi, offering connectivity to domestic and international destinations through its hubs.

What distinguishes this from a conventional airport opening is that nothing ran in parallel. Under a Ministry of Civil Aviation notification, commercial operations at the civil enclave at Visakhapatnam Airport ceased from 12:01am on 17 August, with the VTZ code transferring to Bhogapuram at the same moment. Every airline serving the city moved its operation overnight. The notification preserves the former airport for defence use, national emergencies and specified government transport, but scheduled commercial service has ended there entirely.

An overnight cutover of this kind is operationally demanding in ways a phased opening is not. Ground handling equipment, fuel supply arrangements, staff, security screening, baggage systems, air traffic procedures and airline station infrastructure must all be functioning at the new site from the first departure, with no fallback. Retaining the same three-letter code is a deliberate simplification within that, it means schedules, bookings, interline agreements, cargo documentation and reservation systems worldwide continue to reference VTZ without amendment, and a passenger holding a ticket issued months ago finds it still valid. The code identifies the city’s air service rather than the physical site.

WHY THE MOVE WAS NECESSARY

The reason lies in what the previous airport was. Visakhapatnam’s commercial flights operated from a civil enclave at INS Dega, an Indian Navy air station – an arrangement in which civil traffic is accommodated alongside a military operation that holds priority. Civil enclaves are common across India and work adequately at modest volumes, but they impose structural constraints that no amount of investment resolves: available slots are limited by military activity, terminal and apron expansion is constrained by the boundaries of a defence installation, and operating hours are subject to the host service’s requirements.

For a city of Visakhapatnam’s economic weight (a major port, an industrial and pharmaceutical centre, and the largest city in the region) those constraints become binding as traffic grows. A greenfield airport removes them, and does so permanently. The former facility continues in its primary role as a naval air station.

THE AIRPORT AND ITS CONCESSION

Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport is located at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, off National Highway 16 and approximately 40 to 45 kilometres from Visakhapatnam. It is developed by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Airports, which holds a 40-year design, build, finance, operate and transfer concession awarded in 2020 with provision for a 20-year extension. GMR states the airport has a Phase 1 capacity of 6 million passengers a year, with the project developed to serve Visakhapatnam and surrounding districts with expanded domestic and international connectivity and dedicated cargo facilities. A validation flight (the trial operation confirming that navigation aids, procedures and infrastructure perform as designed before an airport can be licensed) was completed on 4 January 2026 using an Air India aircraft.

The airport is named after Alluri Sitarama Raju, the tribal revolutionary who led the Rampa Rebellion against British colonial administration in the 1920s. The terminal is spread across 77,342 square metres and features 22 traditional check-in counters, 18 self baggage drop units, advanced screening systems, baggage handling facilities and seven aerobridges. Air India describes the facility as offering enhanced passenger comfort and operational efficiency.