VIZIANAGARAM: Commercial flight operations began at Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport in Bhogapuram on Monday, marking a new chapter in the aviation and economic journey of North Andhra Pradesh.
The airport welcomed its first commercial flight, IndiGo 6E 6408 from Hyderabad, at 6.45 am. GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) accorded a ceremonial water cannon salute to the aircraft. Air India Express, Air India, IndiGo, Scoot and India One also operated their first arrivals of the day. The airport recorded 52 planned air traffic movements (ATMs) on its opening day.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, District Collector S Ramsundar Reddy, GVIAL CEO Kanwarbir Singh Kalra, Markfed chairman Karrothu Bangarraju and other dignitaries ceremonially handed over boarding passes to passengers on the inaugural IndiGo and Air India Express flights and presented mementoes.
Kalra said the airport would provide safe, seamless and world-class travel facilities. He said GVIAL would work to expand connectivity.
‘ASR Airport reflects cultural heritage of N Andhra’
Rammohan Naidu said the airport’s design reflected the rich history and cultural heritage of the region and praised the GMR Group for creating world-class infrastructure. He said North Andhra, once described as a backward region, had emerged as a centre of development and progress.
The Minister also acknowledged public sentiment over the shifting of commercial flights from the existing Visakhapatnam airport.
He said such feelings were natural during major developmental transitions and assured that the government was working on strategic plans for the future utilisation of the existing airport infrastructure.
Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan said the airport, named after Manyam Veerudu Alluri Sitarama Raju, represented the long-standing aspirations of the people of North Andhra.
He said the facility would attract investments, boost industrial growth and create employment and career opportunities for the youth.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu congratulated the GMR Group and people of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh on the commencement of operations.
In a post on X, he said the airport had opened a historic new chapter for Andhra Pradesh by creating new opportunities for the aspirations and futures of young people. Developed by GVIAL under the public-private partnership model, the airport has been designed with an initial annual capacity of six million passengers. Its 77,342-sq m integrated terminal has been planned for expansion to handle more than 40 million passengers annually.
The airport also has a 3,800-metre Code 4E runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, providing scope for greater domestic and international connectivity and expanded air cargo operations.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport on August 1. Seventeen days later, commercial operations formally commenced on August 17, setting the stage for Bhogapuram to emerge as a aviation and logistics hub on India’s eastern coast and strengthen AP’s position as “Gateway of the East”.