Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport
Bhogapuram Airport: the complete guide
Everything about the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport (ASR International Airport, IATA: VTZ) at Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram district — how it was built, what it can handle, and what it changes for North Andhra.
Why this airport matters
For seventy years, air travel in North Andhra ran through a civil enclave inside a naval air station. Bhogapuram ends that constraint.
Visakhapatnam's old airport was a civil enclave at INS Dega. It worked, but it was hemmed in by defence land and urban development, with effectively no room to lengthen the runway, build a larger terminal or add aircraft parking bays. Passenger growth had nowhere to go.
Bhogapuram was the answer: a greenfield site of 2,203 acres about 40 to 45 km north-east of Visakhapatnam, with roughly 500 acres deliberately held back for future expansion. That headroom is the whole point. The airport opens with capacity for six million passengers a year and a master plan that scales past 40 million.
The knock-on effects are already visible. Land along the Bhogapuram airport corridor has re-rated sharply, hospitality operators are moving into the Bhimli and Rushikonda belt, and the Araku, Borra and Buddhist circuits gain an international gateway an hour away.
Started?
Yes — flights from 17 Aug 2026
Airport code
VTZ · VOVI
To Vizag
40–45 km · about 1 hour
District
Vizianagaram, PIN 535216
Airlines
IndiGo, Air India, Scoot
Where
Bhogapuram, off NH-16
Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram district, off NH-16 — about 40–45 km from Visakhapatnam. Distance from Vizag →
| Official name | Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Bhogapuram International Airport, ASR Airport |
| IATA code | VTZ (transferred from Visakhapatnam on 17 August 2026) |
| Location | Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Inaugurated by | Prime Minister Narendra Modi · Saturday, 1 August 2026 |
| Commercial flights begin | Sunday, 17 August 2026 |
| Developer / operator | GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) |
| Development model | Public-Private Partnership (PPP), DBFOT basis |
| Project cost | ₹5,640 crore |
| Total area | 2,203 acres (with ~500 acres reserved for future expansion) |
| Runway | 3,800 m Code 4E runway — among the longest in India |
| Aircraft handled | Wide-body ready: Boeing 777, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 and Airbus A330 |
| Passenger terminal | 78,000 sq m integrated passenger terminal (Phase 1) |
| Cargo terminal | 5,000 sq m cargo terminal |
| Phase 1 capacity | 6 million passengers per annum |
| Ultimate capacity | 40+ million passengers per annum |
| Distance from Visakhapatnam | approximately 40–45 km from Visakhapatnam city |
| Named after | Alluri Sitarama Raju, the tribal freedom fighter of Andhra Pradesh |
What has actually been built
The specifications that determine which aircraft can land here, and how many people can move through the terminal.
How Bhogapuram airport came together
27 January 2016
Site clearance granted
Central site clearance for the Bhogapuram greenfield project is issued, with the condition that scheduled commercial services at the Visakhapatnam civil enclave would close once the new airport is commissioned.
2024 – 2026
Construction accelerates
GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) pushes the terminal, the 3,800 m runway and landside infrastructure to completion, ahead of the original target date.
July 2026
Renamed and validated
A Ministry of Civil Aviation gazette notification formally renames the airport the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport. A validation flight lands successfully, and land prices along the corridor jump.
1 August 2026
Inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi
The Prime Minister inaugurates the airport alongside Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu, and dedicates projects worth over ₹17,900 crore.
17 August 2026
Commercial flights begin
The airport is commissioned at 12:01 am. The IATA code VTZ transfers from the Visakhapatnam civil enclave at INS Dega, where scheduled commercial operations cease for 30 years.
How big can it get?
The 2,203-acre site was sized so that each expansion phase is a build-out, not a rebuild.
| Phase | Capacity | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (open now) | 6 million passengers a year | 78,000 sq m integrated terminal |
| Phase 2 | 12 million passengers a year | Terminal expansion on the master plan |
| Phase 3 | 18 million passengers a year | Further airside and landside build-out |
| Ultimate | 40+ million passengers a year | Full master-plan development |
Where is Bhogapuram airport and how do you reach it?
Short answer: about 40 to 45 km north-east of Visakhapatnam, roughly an hour by road on NH-16.
Most searched Bhogapuram airport questions
Bhogapuram airport: frequently asked questions
Direct answers to what people most often ask about the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport.
The airport at Bhogapuram is officially named the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport, commonly shortened to ASR International Airport. It was renamed from Bhogapuram Greenfield Airport by a Ministry of Civil Aviation gazette notification in July 2026, honouring Alluri Sitarama Raju, the tribal freedom fighter who led the Rampa Rebellion in the Eastern Ghats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram on Saturday, 1 August 2026. Scheduled commercial flight operations began about two weeks later, on Sunday, 17 August 2026, when the airport was formally commissioned at 12:01 am.
The IATA code is VTZ and the ICAO code is VOVI. VTZ previously belonged to the Visakhapatnam civil enclave at INS Dega and was transferred to Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram at 12:01 am on 17 August 2026.
Yes. Scheduled commercial flights have been operating from 17 August 2026. The ceremonial inauguration was on 1 August 2026. Book using VTZ.
IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Scoot and India One Air have operated from Bhogapuram since opening day. IndiGo flew the first arrival from Hyderabad; Scoot flies Singapore; IndiGo also flies Abu Dhabi. Confirm your date on the airline website.
The airport is at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, on the coastal stretch north-east of Visakhapatnam. It sits roughly 40 to 45 km from Visakhapatnam city, about an hour by road via NH-16. The Bhogapuram PIN code is 535216.
The airport was developed and is operated by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a subsidiary of the GMR Group. It was built under a Public-Private Partnership on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis, at a project cost of about ₹5,640 crore.
The runway is 3,800 metres long and rated Code 4E, making it one of the longest in India. It has a full-length parallel taxiway, a CAT I instrument landing system and LED airfield lighting, and can handle wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 and Airbus A330.
Scheduled commercial flights at the Visakhapatnam civil enclave at INS Dega ceased from 17 August 2026 and are barred for 30 years, in line with the condition attached to the Bhogapuram site clearance. INS Dega continues as a naval air station, and non-scheduled operations such as charter flights may still use the civil enclave.
Phase 1 handles six million passengers a year through a 78,000 sq m integrated terminal. The master plan scales that to 12 million in Phase 2 and 18 million in Phase 3, with an ultimate design capacity of more than 40 million passengers a year on the 2,203-acre site.
Yes. The Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport is a full international airport and is the first international airport built in Andhra Pradesh after the state's bifurcation in 2014. Its 3,800 m Code 4E runway and wide-body capability are specifically intended to support long-haul international services from North Andhra.
The airport is about 40 to 45 km from Visakhapatnam city, roughly an hour by road via NH-16 through Madhurawada, Anandapuram and the Bheemili belt. Taxis, app cabs and bus services connect the city to the airport. There is no railway station at Bhogapuram; Vizianagaram Junction and Nellimarla are the nearest, a 20 to 30 minute drive away.
Bhogapuram is changing fast. Keep up with it.
Airport milestones, land price movements, new hotels and travel guidance — all in one place.