No more flights on Visakhapatnam Airport, operations shift to new Alluri Sitarama Raju Airport in Bhogapuram
After decades of service, Visakhapatnam Airport ended scheduled commercial flights on 16 August 2026, with operations shifting to Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport. The airport has a rich history, including naval operations.
Visakhapatnam Airport has ceased commercial flight operations as of 17 August 2026, with all flights now departing from the newly inaugurated Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport in Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh. The last flight from Visakhapatnam Airport was IndiGo flight 6E 2018 to Delhi, which took off at 10:45 pm on Sunday.
IATA airport code 'VTZ' has been transferred to the new airport. Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport on 1 August 2026, and the first commercial flight arrived from Hyderabad on Monday. The Visakhapatnam Airport, established during World War II, served as a Royal Air Force airstrip and briefly opened for civil operations in 1962 before resuming regular flights in 1976.
The airport was later used by the Indian Navy and became INS Dega in 1986. With a single runway and a passenger terminal capable of handling six million passengers annually, the new Alluri Sitarama Raju Airport is located approximately 45 km northeast of Visakhapatnam, accessible via National Highway 16.
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