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Visakhapatnam Airport

Coordinates: 17°43′16″N 083°13′28″E / 17.72111°N 83.22444°E / 17.72111; 83.22444
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This article is about the current operational airport. For the upcoming airport, see Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport.

Visakhapatnam Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/public
OwnerIndian Navy
Operator
ServesVisakhapatnam Metropolitan Region
LocationVisakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Elevation AMSL3 m / 10 ft
Coordinates17°43′16″N 083°13′28″E / 17.72111°N 83.22444°E / 17.72111; 83.22444
WebsiteVishakhapatnam Airport
Map
VTZ is located in Visakhapatnam
VTZ
VTZ
VTZ is located in Andhra Pradesh
VTZ
VTZ
VTZ is located in India
VTZ
VTZ
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 3,050 10,007 Asphalt
05/23 1,829 6,000 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025)
Passengers2,955,089 (Increase 6%)
Aircraft movements22,210 (Increase 10.7%)
Cargo tonnage4,398 (Increase 9.1%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Visakhapatnam Airport (IATA: VTZ, ICAO: VOVZ) is a customs airport[a] serving the city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It operates as a civil enclave alongside the airbase INS Dega, owned and operated by the Indian Navy.

History

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During the Second World War, an airstrip was constructed at Visakhapatnam for the usage of the Royal Air Force. After a period of disuse after the end of the war, the airport was opened for civil operations in 1962. However, services were stopped soon due to poor patronage, and regular flights resumed only in 1976.[4]

The Indian Navy started aviation operations in December 1972, and a helipad along with hangars were set up adjacent to the airfield in 1976. On 12 March 1986, the ownership of the airport was transferred from the National Airports Authority of India (later Airports Authority of India) to the Indian Navy, and the airport was designated as 'Naval Air Station, Visakhapatnam' with additional hangars, maintenance facilities and an operations complex were constructed soon after. On 21 October 1991, the air station was renamed and formally commissioned as INS Dega.[5][6]

The airport underwent expansion and modernisation beginning in 2002, with a new runway and passenger terminal planned as a part of the expansion plan. The new runway was inaugurated on 15 June 2007 and was opened for commercial traffic from 30 March 2008. A new terminal building was built at a cost of ₹950 million (equivalent to ₹2.4 billion or US$28 million in 2023), and inaugurated on 20 February 2009.[4][7][8] On 17 November 2011, the ICAO airport code was changed from VEVZ to VOVZ.[9] Night operations began in the airport in 2012.[8]

In October 2014, the airport suffered extensive damage due to the cyclone Hudhud, and had to undergo a significant rebuild.[4] In 2022, the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Indian Navy signed an agreement to move the civilian operations from the airport to the planned new airport at Bhogapuram in phases over the next 30 years. About 170 acres (69 ha) of the airport would be controlled by the navy and the remaining space would be managed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for civilian flights.[10][11] In 2023, AAI proposed a new terminal to be built at a cost of ₹2.4 billion (US$28 million), with four additional parking bays and a new apron.[12]

Facilities

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The airport is spread over an area of 350.31 acres (141.77 ha) with 276.89 acres (112.05 ha) in use.[13] The airport has a single operational run way–the 3,050 m × 45 m (10,007 ft × 148 ft) runway 10/28, equipped with CAT-1 Instrument landing system and night landing capabilities.[13][14] The old 1,829 m × 45 m (6,001 ft × 148 ft) runway 05/23 is not in use, and is used by the navy for parking aircraft. There are three taxiways designated from N3 to N5.[13] There are 16 parking bays for aircraft situated across two aprons (nine in old apron and seven in extended apron), three of which are fitted with jet bridges. There are also three remote parking bays, three parking bays for cargo aircraft, and isolated bays for navy aircraft.[13][14]

Terminal

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The passenger terminal can handle 2.74 million passengers per annum. The integrated domestic terminal is spread over an area of 19,800 m2 (213,000 sq ft), and the international departure and arrival terminals occupy 5,723 m2 (61,600 sq ft) and 5,429 m2 (58,440 sq ft) of built up area. The passenger terminal can handle a peak capacity of 400 domestic and 300 international passengers. The terminal has 20 check-in counters, 12 immigration counters, 14 customs counters, three conveyor belts, and seven x-ray scanners.[13][14]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Air India Delhi
Air India Express Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai-Shivaji,[15] Port Blair,[15] Vijayawada[16]
IndiaOne Air Jeypore
IndiGo Abu Dhabi,[17] Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar,[17] Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore,[18] Kolkata, Kurnool, Mumbai-Shivaji, Raipur,[18] Tirupati, Vijayawada
Scoot Singapore[19]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic and aircraft movement
Year Passenger traffic Aircraft movement
Passengers Percent change Aircraft movements Percent change
2024-2025 2,955,089 1 6.0 22,210 Increase 10.7
2023-2024 2,788,665 1 11.5 20,071 1 4.25
2022-2023 2,500,654 1 55.3 20,961 Increase 40.9
2021-2022 1,610,483 -1 44.6 14,878 Increase 39.5
2020-2021 1,113,513 -1 58.5 10,667 Decrease 49
2019-2020 2,681,283 -1 6.0 20,935 1 6.9
2018-2019 2,853,390 1 15 23,695 1 20.9
2017-2018 2,480,379 1 5.2 19,595 1 0.2
2016-2017 2,358,029 1 30.7 19,550 116.8
2015-2016 1,804,634 1 26.9 16,739 1 46.3
2014-2015 1,099,480 11,445
Busiest domestic routes from VTZ (2023–24)[20]
Rank Airport Carriers Departing passengers
1 Hyderabad, Telangana Air India Express, IndiGo 4,19,189
2 Bengaluru, Karnataka Air India Express, IndiGo 2,96,215
3 Delhi Air India, IndiGo 2,34,947
4 Chennai, Tamil Nadu IndiGo 1,29,266
5 Mumbai, Maharashtra Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo 1,26,324
6 Kolkata, West Bengal IndiGo 52,623
7 Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh IndiGo 23,260
8 Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh Air India Express, IndiGo 21,091
9 Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo 15,397

Notes

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  1. ^ Airport with customs checking and clearance facility, which enables operations of limited number of international flights.

References

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  1. ^ Annexure III – Passenger Data (PDF). Airports Authority of India (Report). Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Visakhapatnam Airport to be Shut for a Week". The New Indian Express. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ^ "INS Dega". Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. ^ "INS Dega". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Vizag airport terminal to be inaugurated on Feb 20". Business Line. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Vizag airport gets nod to operate 24 x 7". The Times of India. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  9. ^ "ICAO code changed from VEVZ to VOVZ". Aviation Safety. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  10. ^ "The first phase of the development of Bhogapuram International Greenfield Airport set in motion". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 4 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Bhogapuram Airport to start soon". Eenadu (in Telugu). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Proposal sent for construction of new terminal building with ₹240 crore at Vizag Airport". The Hindu. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e Visakhapatnam Airport (PDF). Airports Authority of India (Report). Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  14. ^ a b c "Visakhapatnam Airport". Airports Authority of India. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Air India Express announces new flights from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai and Port Blair". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Two new flights between Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada from Oct 27". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  17. ^ a b "Minister announces three new flights". Telugu 360. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Noew two dauly flights to Raipur from Indore". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Singapore, Singapore SIN". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 27 (2). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 1214–1219. August 2025. ISSN 1466-8718. OCLC 41608313.
  20. ^ City pair wise passenger traffic statistics (Report). Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Retrieved 28 March 2025.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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