First test flight to land at Bhogapuram International Airport on January 4

The stage is set for the landing of the first test flight at the Bhogapuram International Airport on January 4, 2026 (Sunday).

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu is scheduled to arrive in the Air India flight from New Delhi to the new airport, located at around 50 km from Visakhapatnam.

The Union Minister will be accompanied by Vizianagaram MP Kalisetty Appala Naidu, officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Initial hurdles

The State government had given the green signal for the construction of the airport in 2015. Problems in the acquisition of land due to initial resistance from the farmers led to the delay in the completion of the project.

Now, around 95% of the works have been completed, with only minor works pending. The officials are planning to commence regular operation of commercial flights from June 2026.

Need for alternative

The need for construction of an alternative airport to the existing Visakhapatnam International Airport has been felt due to the restrictions on the allocation of slots for commercial flights by the Indian Navy, which has control over the airport. The Navy uses the airport to impart training to the pilots to meet its own requirements, and the remaining slots are given to the airline operators for their civil operations.

There are instances of airline operators, including international operators, shying away from the airport as their requests for slots at specific hours of the day have been turned down as the Navy requires them for its own operations. Commercial airline operators go by traffic volumes and profitability to sustain their operations.

The problem had reached its peak during the earlier term of the Chandrababu Naidu government, which brought it to the notice of the Centre, which then gave its nod for construction of an airport at Bhogapuram in October 2016.

The airport is being constructed by the GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) in an extent of 2,203 acres. The length of the runway is 3.8 km.

Delay in laying access roads

While the airport construction is progressing at a brisk pace, a major cause for worry is the delay in completion of the access road from the National Highway-16 to the airport and the proposed six-lane Beach Road from Visakhapatnam to Bhogapuram to provide easy access to passengers going from Anakapalli, Gajuwaka, and other areas in the city.

“We met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and sought access from the NH-16 at one or two locations near Tagarapuvalasa for the convenience of passengers going to the airport. The VMRDA has also acquired land for construction of eight arterial roads to the airport,” said Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat.