Overview
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued the aerodrome licence on Friday, July 10, after statutory inspections, operational tests and safety verifications confirmed the airport is ready for service.
- Officials say commercial operations are imminent and the Prime Minister is expected to inaugurate the facility by the end of July, though one outlet's report that flights began on July 8 is not universally corroborated.
- The greenfield airport, developed by GMR, was built on roughly 2,200 acres at an estimated cost of about ₹4,500–4,725 crore and includes a long runway, a 78,000-square-metre terminal and a 20,000‑tonne cargo facility.
- State and project authorities are rolling out connectivity work including multiple approach roads, a proposed six‑lane coastal corridor, APSRTC electric buses and passenger lounges to link Visakhapatnam with Bhogapuram.
- The airport is designed to remove the civilian constraints imposed by the Navy‑shared Visakhapatnam civil enclave by allowing round‑the‑clock operations and is expected to boost tourism, exports and local employment as capacity grows.