July 5 Inauguration, July 8 Operations: Bhogapuram Airport

Andhra Pradesh’s aviation landscape is preparing for a monumental milestone as the newly constructed greenfield Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram gears up for its grand inauguration on July 5, 2026. Commercial passenger flight operations are officially set to commence from July 8, 2026, marking a complete transition from the existing military-controlled Visakhapatnam Airport. To ensure a seamless shift across global ticketing networks, the brand-new GMR-developed facility will completely inherit the existing VTZ IATA code.

Major international airlines have already started aligning their systems with this transition to prevent travel disruptions. Singapore-based low-cost carrier Fly Scoot issued an official travel advisory confirming that effective July 8, all of its operations will permanently move to the new infrastructure. Passengers booking flights under the VTZ code will now board and land at the Bhogapuram facility rather than the old city airstrip.

Because the new international gateway is located roughly 45 to 50 km away from the Visakhapatnam city center, airlines are actively warning travelers to carefully restructure their transit timelines. Scoot has confirmed its check-in counters will operate out of Terminal 1, opening 2.5 hours prior to departure. While the distance requires extra planning from flyers, the state-of-the-art terminal is built to handle 6 million passengers annually, promising an upgraded global travel experience for the region.