Visakhapatnam Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Indian Navy | ||||||||||||||
| Operator |
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| Serves | Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh, India | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 10 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°43′16″N083°13′28″E / 17.72111°N 83.22444°E /17.72111; 83.22444 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | Vishakhapatnam Airport | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  VTZ .svg) VTZ  VTZ | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:AAI[1][2][3] | |||||||||||||||
Visakhapatnam Airport (IATA:VTZ,ICAO:VOVZ) is acustoms airport[a] serving the city ofVisakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh, India. It operates as acivil enclave alongside the airbaseINS Dega, owned and operated by theIndian Navy.
During theSecond World War, an airstrip was constructed at Visakhapatnam for the usage of theRoyal Air Force. After a period of disuse after the end of the war, the airport was opened for civil operations in 1962. However, services were stopped soon due to poor patronage, and regular flights resumed only in 1976.[4]
TheIndian Navy started aviation operations in December 1972, and a helipad along with hangars were set up adjacent to the airfield in 1976. On 12 March 1986, the ownership of the airport was transferred from theNational Airports Authority of India (later Airports Authority of India) to the Indian Navy, and the airport was designated as 'Naval Air Station, Visakhapatnam' with additional hangars, maintenance facilities and an operations complex were constructed soon after. On 21 October 1991, the air station was renamed and formally commissioned asINS Dega.[5][6]
The airport underwent expansion and modernisation beginning in 2002, with a new runway and passenger terminal planned as a part of the expansion plan. The new runway was inaugurated on 15 June 2007 and was opened for commercial traffic from 30 March 2008. A new terminal building was built at a cost of₹950 million (equivalent to₹2.4 billion or US$28 million in 2023), and inaugurated on 20 February 2009.[4][7][8] On 17 November 2011, theICAO airport code was changed from VEVZ to VOVZ.[9] Night operations began in the airport in 2012.[8]
In October 2014, the airport suffered extensive damage due to thecyclone Hudhud, and had to undergo a significant rebuild.[4] In 2022, theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh and Indian Navy signed an agreement to move the civilian operations from the airport to the planned newairport atBhogapuram in phases over the next 30 years. About 170 acres (69 ha) of the airport would be controlled by the navy and the remaining space would be managed by theAirport Authority of India (AAI) for civilian flights.[10][11] In 2023, AAI proposed a new terminal to be built at a cost of₹2.4 billion (US$28 million), with four additional parking bays and a new apron.[12]
The airport is spread over an area of 350.31 acres (141.77 ha) with 276.89 acres (112.05 ha) in use.[13] The airport has a single operational run way–the 3,050 m × 45 m (10,007 ft × 148 ft) runway 10/28, equipped with CAT-1Instrument landing system and night landing capabilities.[13][14] The old 1,829 m × 45 m (6,001 ft × 148 ft) runway 05/23 is not in use, and is used by the navy for parking aircraft. There are threetaxiways designated from N3 to N5.[13] There are 16 parking bays for aircraft situated across two aprons (nine in old apron and seven in extended apron), three of which are fitted withjet bridges. There are also three remote parking bays, three parking bays forcargo aircraft, and isolated bays for navy aircraft.[13][14]
The passenger terminal can handle 2.74 million passengers per annum. The integrated domestic terminal is spread over an area of 19,800 m2 (213,000 sq ft), and the international departure and arrival terminals occupy 5,723 m2 (61,600 sq ft) and 5,429 m2 (58,440 sq ft) of built up area. The passenger terminal can handle a peak capacity of 400 domestic and 300 international passengers. The terminal has 20 check-in counters, 12 immigration counters, 14 customs counters, three conveyor belts, and seven x-ray scanners.[13][14]
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| Year | Passenger traffic | Aircraft movement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers | Percent change | Aircraft movements | Percent change | |
| 2024-2025 | 2,955,089 |  6.0 | 22,210 | 10.7 |
| 2023-2024 | 2,788,665 | 11.5 | 20,071 |  4.25 |
| 2022-2023 | 2,500,654 | 55.3 | 20,961 | 40.9 |
| 2021-2022 | 1,610,483 | 44.6 | 14,878 | 39.5 |
| 2020-2021 | 1,113,513 | 58.5 | 10,667 | 49 |
| 2019-2020 | 2,681,283 | 6.0 | 20,935 | 6.9 |
| 2018-2019 | 2,853,390 | 15 | 23,695 | 20.9 |
| 2017-2018 | 2,480,379 | 5.2 | 19,595 | 0.2 |
| 2016-2017 | 2,358,029 | 30.7 | 19,550 | 16.8 |
| 2015-2016 | 1,804,634 | 26.9 | 16,739 | 46.3 |
| 2014-2015 | 1,099,480 | 11,445 | ||
| Rank | Airport | Carriers | Departing passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad, Telangana | Air India Express,IndiGo | 4,19,189 |
| 2 | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Air India Express,IndiGo | 2,96,215 |
| 3 | Delhi | Air India,IndiGo | 2,34,947 |
| 4 | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | IndiGo | 1,29,266 |
| 5 | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Air India,Air India Express,IndiGo | 1,26,324 |
| 6 | Kolkata, West Bengal | IndiGo | 52,623 |
| 7 | Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh | IndiGo | 23,260 |
| 8 | Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh | Air India Express,IndiGo | 21,091 |
| 9 | Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Air India,Air India Express,IndiGo | 15,397 |
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