The first flight of Air India, which successfully landed as part of the commercial validation of the first flight, was given a grand welcome with water cannons at Bhogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram district, about 50 km from Visakhapatnam city, on Sunday (January 4, 2026) morning. Union Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appala Naidu and others boarded the flight, which landed at the newly constructed airport at 11.

10 am. Collector S.

Ramasunder Reddy, Joint Collector Sethu Madhavan, several public representatives and GMR Group officials welcomed the minister and other VIPs on the runway. He expressed happiness over the successful completion of the first trail run on the 3.

8 km long runway constructed at the airport. Shri Rammohan Naidu said that this is a historic day in the aviation sector and hoped that the new airport will boost economic activities in the entire North Andhra region.

He expressed confidence that GMR Group will meet the deadline of June 30, 2026, for full operationalization of the airport. He said the government is taking steps to widen roads on all routes with a view to ensure hassle-free travel to the airport for air passengers coming from Visakhapatnam city and other places in the region.

GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) is building a greenfield airport on 2,200 acres of land at an estimated cost of ₹4,725 crore. This airport, proposed in 2014, is all set to open within six months and the way has been cleared for its operations. GMR Group Deputy Managing Director I.

Prabhakar Rao said 96% of the work has been completed and special care is being taken to meet the government’s expectations. According to him, more than 200 aircraft can be operated from the new airport.

18 aircraft can be parked here at night. The group claimed that it will ensure hassle-free services for the passengers by arranging 18 immigration counters for the passengers.

The group estimates that 33% of passengers will come from Visakhapatnam district and the remaining 67% from North Andhra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and other places. The airport can handle 20,000 tonnes of cargo every year. A large cargo terminal is also being built for the export of bulk medicines, agricultural, marine and other products.