The Ministry of Civil Aviation has formally notified a landmark shift in the aviation framework of Andhra Pradesh, confirming that scheduled commercial passenger operations at the Visakhapatnam Civil Enclave, known as INS Dega, will officially cease and transfer to the newly constructed greenfield facility at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district. Effective precisely at one minute past midnight on August 17, all scheduled commercial flights serving the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region will transition to this modern aviation hub.

As part of this comprehensive shift, the iconic three-letter International Air Transport Association location identifier, the VTZ code, which has represented Visakhapatnam on global ticketing networks, airline booking systems, and baggage tags for decades, will officially be transferred to the Bhogapuram facility. In a parallel statutory decision, the Union government officially designated the greenfield infrastructure project as the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport, honoring the legendary tribal freedom fighter who led the historic Rampa Rebellion in the Eastern Ghats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, is scheduled to formally inaugurate the project on August 1, setting the stage for commercial passenger services to commence roughly two weeks later.

This major operational transition brings an end to more than seven decades of civilian commercial flights operating out of INS Dega. First established in 1941 during the Second World War as a naval airfield and subsequently opened to civilian air travel in 1954, the Visakhapatnam civil enclave served as a crucial transport link during the city's transformation from a modest coastal enclave into a thriving industrial, defense, and maritime hub.

However, operating as a civil enclave within an active naval installation presented persistent long-term operational challenges. Because the runway was shared between commercial airliners and naval defense aircraft under the Eastern Naval Command, civilian flight schedules faced rigid slot restrictions, defense priorities, and severe spatial constraints that prevented the construction of longer runways or large-scale cargo facilities needed for wide-body transatlantic and transpacific aircraft.

Under the terms of the official notification issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the civil enclave at INS Dega will remain closed to scheduled commercial passenger operations for a period of thirty years. Nevertheless, the naval airbase will continue its vital national defense duties without interruption, while remaining available for non-scheduled charter flights, police aircraft, state government transport, and emergency medical missions.

The development of the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport stands out as a notable engineering achievement in modern Indian infrastructure. Constructed by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited under a public-private partnership model at an estimated cost of four thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven crore rupees, the greenfield airport was completed in a record execution window of thirty-one months.

This rapid progress makes it one of the fastest-completed greenfield airport projects in the nation's aviation history. Ahead of its formal inauguration, the facility successfully secured its aerodrome license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, along with all mandatory clearances for environmental sustainability, fire safety, and operational security required to host domestic and long-haul international flights.

Architecturally, the new airport is designed to celebrate the rich cultural and maritime heritage of the northern coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, known historically as Uttarandhra. The central passenger terminal features an architectural form inspired by the fluid motion of a flying fish, symbolizing the coastal ecosystem of the Bay of Bengal, while the interior roofing incorporates traditional Rangoli patterns.

Beyond its aesthetic design, the airport features a three thousand eight hundred meter Code-E asphalt runway equipped with advanced airfield lighting and modern navigation technology, enabling the facility to accommodate large wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Airbus A350. In its initial first phase, the terminal is built to process six million passengers per year, alongside an integrated air cargo terminal capable of handling twenty-five thousand metric tonnes annually.

The long-term master plan incorporates a flexible, modular layout that allows future expansion phases to scale total capacity up to twelve million, eighteen million, and ultimately forty million passengers annually as regional demand grows.

The strategic relocation of the VTZ airport code to Bhogapuram, situated approximately forty-five kilometers northeast of downtown Visakhapatnam off National Highway 16, mirrors a proven infrastructure pattern previously executed across several major Indian metropolitan regions.

Cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad successfully shifted commercial operations from congested inner-city or defense airfields to suburban greenfield hubs in 2008, paving the way for massive surges in regional trade, tourism, and real estate development.

Similar greenfield transitions have been executed across Goa with Mopa Airport, the National Capital Region with Jewar Airport, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Beyond handling passenger throughput, the opening of Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport is poised to function as a powerful economic catalyst for the entire Uttarandhra zone, encompassing Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam districts.

The region’s rapidly expanding information technology corridors, major pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters, and extensive seafood processing industries will benefit immediately from dedicated temperature-controlled cold-chain air cargo facilities. This localized cargo infrastructure drastically reduces transit times and eliminates the need to route perishable goods or high-value exports overland through distant air terminals in Hyderabad or Chennai.

Furthermore, direct long-haul international connectivity is expected to unlock the immense tourism potential of the region, attracting domestic and international travelers to the scenic Araku Valley, the hill stations of Lambasingi, coastal beach resorts, and ancient Buddhist heritage circuits scattered across northern coastal Andhra Pradesh.

To support the physical shift in passenger traffic, state transport departments and local municipal authorities are implementing comprehensive road and transit upgrades connecting Visakhapatnam's urban core directly to the new terminal in Bhogapuram.

Key infrastructure projects include the deployment of dedicated express airport shuttle bus fleets, ongoing highway widening projects along National Highway 16, and the construction of a high-speed coastal beach road expressway.

Furthermore, the overall airport complex encompasses an integrated vision that includes a five hundred acre aviation hub, an aviation university, and dedicated skill development centers designed to train local youth for technical careers in aerospace engineering, logistics, and airline management.

As the August 17 operational deadline approaches, major domestic and international airlines operating in the region are actively updating their global reservation platforms, flight schedules, and ticketing networks.

Passengers booking air travel to or from Visakhapatnam for travel dates on or after August 17 will automatically be routed through the new Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram under the familiar VTZ location identifier.

The formal commissioning of this world-class greenfield facility marks a momentous chapter in regional development, providing northern coastal Andhra Pradesh with a modern, unconstrained aviation gateway designed to drive economic prosperity, global connectivity, and industrial growth for generations to come.