Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport begins commercial operations
Vizag's new international airport began commercial operations on 17 August with inaugural flights to Abu Dhabi, Singapore.
Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, near Visakhapatnam, commenced commercial operations on 17 August 2026, with Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu marking the occasion by handing boarding passes to passengers on the inaugural IndiGo and Air India Express flights, as the airport developed and operated by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited opened to serve North Andhra Pradesh with domestic and international connectivity.
The first flight of the day was IndiGo's service from Hyderabad, followed by the airport's first international flight operated by an Indian carrier, IndiGo's service from Abu Dhabi, and its first flight by a foreign carrier, Scoot's service from Singapore. All first arrivals of the day, including flights by Air India Express, Air India, IndiGo, Scoot and India One, received a ceremonial water cannon salute. The airport recorded 52 planned air traffic movements on its opening day.
Kanwarbir Singh Kalra, Chief Executive Officer of GVIAL, said the commencement of operations marked a transformational moment for North Andhra Pradesh, reflecting years of planning, engineering and regulatory work by the airport's teams and partners, and that the airport would serve as a catalyst for trade, tourism, investment and employment while strengthening regional and global connectivity.
The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 August 2026, ahead of commencing commercial operations. It has been designed with an initial capacity of six million passengers annually, master-planned for phased expansion to handle over 40 million passengers per annum. Its 3,800-metre Code 4E runway is capable of handling wide-body aircraft, positioning the airport to support future domestic and international expansion while strengthening air cargo capabilities and reinforcing Andhra Pradesh's emergence as an aviation and logistics hub on India's eastern seaboard.
The airport is GVIAL's latest addition to GMR Airports Limited's portfolio, which also includes Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Nagpur and Bidar airports in India, alongside Medan Airport in Indonesia and technical services at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines.
