Photo: Saiphani02 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
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Visakhapatnam’s airport moved in August 2026
On 17 August 2026, all scheduled commercial flights for Visakhapatnam shifted from the old civil enclave at INS Dega, inside the city, to the new Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, about 45 km up the coast in Vizianagaram district.
The VTZ code moved with the flights. Your ticket, your airline app and every booking site still say VTZ — but since 12:01am on 17 August 2026 that code means Bhogapuram, not the old city airport. Check the full airport name on your booking, not just the code.
What this means for you
- Allow much more travel time. The old airport was minutes from the city; Bhogapuram is 45 km out on NH-16, roughly an hour or more depending on where you start.
- Don’t trust old directions. Blog posts, taxi drivers and even some listings still point at the city airport.
- If someone is dropping you off, make sure they know it’s Bhogapuram.
The timeline
- 1 August 2026 — Bhogapuram inaugurated.
- 16 August 2026 — the last scheduled departure from the old civil enclave, IndiGo 6E 2018 to Delhi.
- 17 August 2026 — commercial operations begin at Bhogapuram, opening with around 31 services; the VTZ code transfers.
Is the old airport closed?
- Not entirely. It has stopped scheduled passenger flights — the Civil Aviation Ministry suspended those for 30 years.
- The Indian Navy continues to operate INS Dega, and non-scheduled civil operations may continue.
- More detail in the old airport section below.
This transition is recent and details are still settling — bus routes, fares and airline schedules in particular. Confirm your departure airport with your airline before you travel.
Right now near the airport
Current weather at VTZ
Loading current conditions…
Live conditions via OpenWeatherMap. This is a coastal airport on the Bay of Bengal: the cyclone season runs roughly October to December, and severe systems can suspend operations for a day or more. Check your flight status during that window.
Terminal
Inside the new terminal
Bhogapuram has a single integrated terminal of 77,342 m² — an order of magnitude more space than the old civil enclave it replaces, built on a greenfield site with room to expand. Phase 1 capacity is 6 million passengers a year, with a planned path to around 18 million.
The “International” in the name is ahead of the schedule. The airport opened with the same domestic network the old airport had. International routes are anticipated but were not operating at launch — don’t book a connection assuming a direct international flight exists here.
Modern by any Indian standard: 22 traditional check-in counters, 18 self-baggage-drop units, seven aerobridges, advanced screening and new baggage handling.
Self baggage drop is unusual at a regional Indian airport — if your airline supports it, it’s meaningfully faster than the counter queue.
Opened with roughly 31 services a day, carrying over the old airport’s domestic map.
Airlines serving VTZ include IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express. Air India retained 14 weekly Delhi services at the move.
The old airport was a civil enclave sharing a naval air station — which capped its runway, its hours and its ability to grow. Bhogapuram removes those constraints.
The trade-off is distance. North Andhra gains a real airport; Vizag residents lose a ten-minute drive to the terminal.
The airport is weeks old and its schedule is still developing. Confirm routes and timings on your airline’s own app rather than on aggregator listings, which are still catching up with the transition.
Flying out
Departures
Arrive 2 hours before a domestic departure — but the number that actually matters here is the drive. Budget an hour or more from central Vizag, and more in the morning peak or bad weather. People who mentally still use the old airport’s ten-minute run are the ones who will miss flights.
Before security
- Entry: a printed or mobile boarding pass and photo ID are checked at the terminal doors.
- Self baggage drop is available — check whether your airline uses it before joining the counter queue.
- Check-in typically closes 45 minutes before domestic departures.
Timing traps
- NH-16 traffic is the main variable; leave earlier than the map estimate suggests.
- Cyclone season (October–December) can suspend operations — check status before setting out on a 45 km drive.
- Facilities are new but the surrounding area is undeveloped; there is no fallback if you arrive very early expecting a town nearby.
Landing here
Arrivals
Domestic arrivals go straight to baggage reclaim and out. The thing to plan is what happens next — you are 45 km from Visakhapatnam, in a district that is still largely rural.
In the arrivals hall
- APSRTC electric buses serve the airport — 20 air-conditioned vehicles launched with the airport, connecting to Visakhapatnam.
- Taxis and app cabs operate, though availability is thinner than at an established city airport, especially late at night.
- Pre-book your onward transport for a late arrival rather than assuming a cab will be waiting.
Meeting someone?
- Make sure whoever is collecting you knows the airport changed location in August 2026 — this is the single most common error right now.
- Parking is new and generous; the forecourt is not yet congested the way older Indian airports are.
- Vizianagaram town is closer than Visakhapatnam if that’s your destination.
Right now
Live departures & arrivals
Use the Departures / Arrivals toggle inside the board below to switch between them.
Live data provided by a third-party service. Because the VTZ code changed airports in August 2026, third-party listings may still show stale airport details — trust your airline’s app for anything critical.
Comfort & cash
Lounges, ATMs & money
Lounges
- Lounge and retail provision at a brand-new airport fills in over the first months — expect the offering to expand through 2026 and 2027.
- Access, where available, is typically via credit-card lounge programmes or pay-per-use.
- Card access changed across India in late 2025 — confirm your card still qualifies rather than assuming.
ATMs & money
- ATMs are provided in the new terminal; draw what you need before security as airside options are limited.
- Forex is minimal while the airport remains domestic — change money in a metro if you need it.
- Andhra Pradesh runs heavily on UPI; a card plus a small cash reserve covers the rest, including the bus.
Inside the terminal
Shopping, food & restrooms
Shopping
Retail is still being built out, as at any newly opened airport. Expect convenience stores, books and a growing set of outlets rather than a mature shopping floor.
Food
Cafés and quick-service counters with Andhra and standard Indian options. Given the 45 km drive, eat before you leave the city if you’re on a tight budget — new-airport pricing is rarely kind.
Restrooms & essentials
Everything is new: clean, accessible, well-signed, with baby-care facilities and drinking-water points. Wi-Fi typically needs an SMS code, so an Indian mobile number helps.
Extra help
Assistance & accessibility
Wheelchairs & reduced mobility
Free wheelchair assistance is a regulatory requirement at Indian airports. Request it when booking, at least 48 hours ahead. The new terminal is step-free with aerobridges, so boarding is easier here than at the old civil enclave.
Elderly passengers
The long drive is the harder part of the journey now, not the airport. For an elderly relative, a pre-booked car with a known driver beats the bus, and gives you a phone number to call if anything goes wrong.
Families
Baby-care rooms are available and families with infants are usually called for priority boarding. Pack for the road journey as well as the flight — 45 km with a toddler is its own trip.
Getting to & from
Ground transportation
Bhogapuram sits off National Highway 16 in Vizianagaram district, roughly 45 km northeast of Visakhapatnam. This is the single biggest practical change from the old airport.
Bus
- APSRTC launched 20 air-conditioned electric buses for the airport, starting the day before commercial flights began.
- The cheapest way in and out by a wide margin, and purpose-built for the route.
- Check current timings and fares with APSRTC — the network is new and still being tuned.
Taxi & app cabs
- Ola, Uber and local operators serve the airport; expect a substantially higher fare than the old airport commanded.
- Pre-book for early departures and late arrivals — spontaneous availability is not yet reliable.
- Allow an hour or more from central Visakhapatnam, more in peak traffic.
Rail & region
- Vizianagaram Junction is closer to the airport than Visakhapatnam Junction — useful if you’re coming from north Andhra or Odisha.
- Visakhapatnam Junction remains the main rail hub for the city itself.
- The airport is well-placed for Araku Valley, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, less so for southern Vizag.
For the record
What happened to the old Visakhapatnam Airport
The old airport was a civil enclave at INS Dega, the Indian Navy’s air station inside Visakhapatnam. It served the region for decades and was, by Indian standards, remarkably close to the city.
Its status now
- Scheduled commercial passenger flights have ceased — the Civil Aviation Ministry announced a suspension of those operations for 30 years.
- The site has not closed: INS Dega continues as a naval air station.
- AAI continues coordinating with the Navy to support non-scheduled civil operations.
Why you still need to know this
- Older articles, listings and map pins still describe the city airport as Visakhapatnam’s airport.
- Some drivers will take you there by habit if you just say “the airport”.
- Say “Bhogapuram”, not “Vizag airport”, when booking a cab.
Sleep nearby
Where to stay
There is very little accommodation near Bhogapuram — this is a greenfield airport in a rural district, and the hospitality around it hasn’t been built yet. Almost everyone stays in Visakhapatnam and drives out.
Visakhapatnam — Beach Road
Visakhapatnam — city
Closer to the airport
If you have a very early flight, staying on the northern side of Vizag — Rushikonda or Bheemili — cuts a meaningful chunk off the pre-dawn drive.
Got time?
Around Visakhapatnam
In and near the city
- RK Beach and the submarine museum — INS Kursura, a decommissioned submarine you can walk through.
- Kailasagiri — hilltop park with a ropeway and views over the bay.
- Rushikonda Beach — the cleanest of the city beaches, on the northern coast.
- Simhachalam Temple — the major hilltop Vaishnavite temple above the city.
Worth a full day
- Araku Valley — coffee plantations and tribal heritage; the train journey up is one of India’s most scenic.
- Borra Caves — million-year-old limestone caverns on the Araku route.
- Bheemili — a former Dutch settlement on the coast, closer to the new airport than to the city.
Layover plans are harder now than they were: with 45 km each way to the city, treat anything in Visakhapatnam as an overnight rather than a stopover.
When things go wrong
Lost & found and airline help
Lost something at the airport?
- Report losses at the airport information desk in the terminal, or to the duty manager.
- Left something on the plane? That’s the airline’s responsibility — go to their counter before you leave the building. With a 45 km drive back, this matters more here than usual.
- Missing checked baggage: file a Property Irregularity Report at the airline’s baggage desk in arrivals before exiting.
- Carry a photo of your bag and its tag number.
Airline customer service
Use only the contact details on airlines’ official websites — fake “customer care numbers” planted in search results are a common scam in India:
- IndiGo — goindigo.in → Contact Us (24/7 in-app chat)
- Air India — airindia.com → Contact Us
- Air India Express — airindiaexpress.com → Support
- SpiceJet — spicejet.com → Contact Us
India’s aviation grievance portal, AirSewa, handles complaints that airlines don’t resolve — including baggage, refunds and denied boarding.
Health & emergencies
Hospitals near the airport
At the airport
The terminal has a medical room and ambulance access — ask any airport staff member or CISF officer. India’s all-in-one emergency number is 112; ambulances can also be called on 102 or 108.
Major hospitals
- Note the distance. Serious care means Visakhapatnam — roughly 45 km and an hour away.
- King George Hospital (KGH) — the main government tertiary hospital in the city.
- Apollo Hospitals, Visakhapatnam and Care Hospitals — large private multi-specialities.
- Seven Hills Hospital — established private hospital in the city.
Visakhapatnam is north Andhra’s medical hub, but the new airport’s rural location means longer response times than city travellers are used to. Private hospitals generally expect payment upfront or a direct insurance tie-up.
Off-airport dining
Eating around the airport & in Vizag
Realistically there is nothing to speak of near Bhogapuram yet beyond highway dhabas — for food inside the airport, see the terminal section above.
On the highway
NH-16 dhabas between Vizag and Bhogapuram serve honest Andhra food at low prices — the practical option if you’re driving out early and want breakfast.
In Visakhapatnam
Beach Road and Dwaraka Nagar hold most of the city’s restaurants, from hotel dining to seafood shacks. Vizag’s coastal seafood is the thing to order.
Eat Andhra
Expect serious heat: Andhra meals on banana leaf, gongura pickle, Bhimavaram-style prawns and Araku coffee — grown a few hours inland and worth taking home.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Which airport does my Visakhapatnam flight use now?
Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, about 45 km from the city. All scheduled commercial flights moved there on 17 August 2026.
Did the VTZ code change?
No — the code stayed the same but now points at a different airport. VTZ has meant Bhogapuram since 12:01am on 17 August 2026. Always check the full airport name on your booking.
Has the old Visakhapatnam Airport closed?
It has stopped scheduled commercial passenger flights, suspended for 30 years, but it hasn’t shut. INS Dega continues as a naval air station and non-scheduled civil operations may continue.
How do I get from Visakhapatnam to Bhogapuram Airport?
APSRTC runs air-conditioned electric buses on the route, and taxis and app cabs operate. Allow an hour or more from central Vizag, and pre-book for early departures.
Are there international flights from Bhogapuram?
The airport carries international status, but it opened with the existing domestic network. Direct international routes are anticipated rather than operating — check current schedules before planning a connection.
How early should I arrive?
Two hours before a domestic flight, plus a realistic estimate for the 45 km drive. The journey, not the terminal, is what makes people late here.
How big is the new terminal?
77,342 square metres, with 22 check-in counters, 18 self-baggage-drop units and seven aerobridges. Phase 1 handles 6 million passengers a year, expandable to roughly 18 million.
This guide was verified in August 2026 against official airport, airline and government sources. The airport opened weeks ago and schedules, bus routes and facilities are still settling — reconfirm anything critical with your airline before you travel.