Overview
- An Air India flight from New Delhi carrying Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu and senior DGCA and AAI officials will conduct the commercial validation landing.
- The airport’s 3.8 km runway will be used for the first time as officials test navigation systems and operational preparedness.
- Project teams report about 95% of works complete, including terminals, air traffic control, cargo and logistics facilities.
- Authorities aim to start regular commercial services around June 2026, with initial capacity projected at roughly six million passengers a year.
- The greenfield PPP project, built by GMR’s GVIAL on about 2,200 acres at an estimated cost of ₹4,592 crore, faces concerns over delayed access roads and its roughly 50 km distance from Visakhapatnam.