Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport

Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport (IATA: VTZ, ICAO: VOVI), also known as Visakhapatnam International Airport, is an international airport located at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The airport is located off the National Highway 16, about 45 km (28 mi) from Visakhapatnam and serves the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region. The airport was developed by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Group. In September 2024, the airport was named after Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju. The first phase of the project was developed at a cost of ₹45.92 billion (US$480 million). The airport was inaugurated on 1 August 2026 and was opened for commercial operations on 17 August 2026.

The North Andhra region was previously served by a civil enclave, operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at INS Dega, a naval air station of the Indian Navy. It was a designated customs airport, and was permitted to operate only limited international flights. The Indian Navy had stated that it was unable to allocate additional slots for commercial flights at the airport due to its increased utilisation for military activities. A greenfield airport for Visakhapatnam was planned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1997 and apart from Bhogapuram, alternative sites like Sabbavaram, Achyutapuram, and Koruprolu were also considered for the project.

In the 2015-16 budget, the state government, led by N. Chandrababu Naidu, proposed a greenfield airport at Bhogapuram. The site was located off the National Highway 16, about 45 km (28 mi) from Visakhapatnam. The Airports Authority of India gave its technical approval for this site in June 2015. The opposition, led by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, challenged the proposal arguing it as detrimental to farmers, and advocated for expanding the existing airport instead. Despite opposition from a section of farmers, the Ministry of Civil Aviation cleared the project in December 2015. By March 2016, the state government had acquired 2,703 acres (1,094 ha) of land for the project, and further acquisition of land was delayed due to agitation from locals. The project was approved by the state government in September 2016, and was to be developed on a public–private partnership basis. The airport received environmental clearance in August 2017, and the bids for its development were submitted in the same month. The foundation stone for the airport was laid by the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on 14 February 2019. In March 2020, the state government allocated 2,200 acres (890 ha) for the development of the airport, while keeping aside 500 acres (200 ha) of land for future development. The contract for the development and operations of the airport was awarded to GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a special-purpose entity owned by the GMR Group, which was set up in June 2020. In 2022, the state government signed an agreement with the Indian Navy to transition civilian operations from the existing Visakhapatnam airport to the new airport in phases over the next 30 years. The airport is being developed in three phases, with the first phase projected to cost ₹45.92 billion (US$480 million). Upon the completion of the first phase, the airport is expected to be able to handle 6.3 million passengers annually, that will increase to 12 and 18 million after the completion of the second and third phases, respectively. After the land acquisition was completed, then state chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy re-laid the foundation stone for the project on 3 May 2023.

Airport data from the OpenFlights open database.