VISAKHAPATNAM:

The Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram began commercial operations on Monday (August 17, 2026), taking over all scheduled flights from the civil enclave at INS Dega, which closed to airlines at midnight.

The first arrivals were IndiGo flight 6E 6408 from Hyderabad at 6.45 a.m. and Air India Express flight IX 2064 from Bengaluru at 7.30 a.m. The first departure was Air India Express flight IX 2745 to Hyderabad at 8.50 a.m. Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu flagged off the first flights and handed boarding passes to passengers.

The drive

Vikram Penmetsa, a chartered accountant from Siripuram in the city, left home at 6 a.m. with his wife driving. They took Beach Road to IT Hills, turned towards Marikivalasa and came through Anandapuram Junction to reach the terminal at 6.50 a.m. Fifty minutes, at an hour with little traffic; regular commuters say the Anandapuram stretch could push the drive past an hour in the day.

Inside, check-in and security took him 15 to 20 minutes, and he was in the domestic hall at gate A4 for the 8.50 a.m. Hyderabad flight.

“The interior is awesome, looking international standards. There is a lot of difference between the old Visakhapatnam Airport and this new facility,” Mr. Penmetsa told The Hindu. “While the travel time from home stretched a bit compared to the 20-minute dash to INS Dega, the scale and sophistication make it entirely worthwhile.”

The first flyers

Malathi Nagabhairava, who flew in from Hyderabad with her sister, was among the first to land. “It was a fantastic flight experience. The pilot’s entire family flew with us, so we felt very safe and secure on board with zero turbulence,” she said. “Everything incorporates the latest and greatest technology with modern digitised systems, while still retaining a warm, traditional touch. We were welcomed with live Indian music, chocolates, a gift, and a photo booth celebrating our flight to the new airport.”

V. Koteswara Rao, a retired BSNL employee, came to see his daughter off to Bahrain. “This new airport is extremely spacious and highly convenient for the three districts of north Andhra,” he said.

The airport, on about 2,200 acres, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 1. It opens with a first-phase capacity of six million passengers a year.

With inputs from ANI

Published - August 17, 2026 12:45 pm IST