Vijayawada Airport

Vijayawada Airport
IATA: VGA ICAO: VOBZ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Airports Authority of India
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region
Location	Gannavaram, Vijayawada ,Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Elevation AMSL	82 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	16°31′44″N 80°47′45″E
Website	Vijayawada Airport
Map
VGA VGA
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 08/26 11,000 3,360 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2024 - March 2025)
Passengers 1,388,943 ( 30.7%) Aircraft movements 18,558 ( 22%) Cargo tonnage 1,413 ( 74.5%)
Source: AAI

Name board at the airport

Vijayawada Airport (IATA: VGA, ICAO: VOBZ), officially known as Vijayawada International Airport, is an international airport serving Vijayawada and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region in India. The airport is located at Gannavaram, Vijayawada and 41 km (25 mi) from Amaravati.

History

The airfield located at Gannavaram served as an army base during the World War II, after which it was converted into a civilian airport. Air Deccan introduced a daily service between Hyderabad and Vijayawada in September 2003. Until 2011, the airport had only four flights a day operated by Kingfisher Airlines. In 2011, flag carrier Air India and private airlines Spicejet and Jet Airways introduced direct flights to the airport, but the later terminated its service. Air Costa, a regional airline started operations in October 2013, with Vijayawada as its operational hub, which later suspended services.

To cater to the increasing passenger traffic, the foundation stone for a new interim terminal building was laid in October 2015. The terminal, designed to handle two million passengers per annum was opened on 12 January 2017. It was expected to be sufficient for passenger needs for the next four-five years until a larger integrated terminal was built. After domestic operations were shifted to the interim terminal, the old airport terminal building was closed and was prepared to handle international services. The terminal was equipped with a customs and immigration section and additional facilities and security arrangements.

The Central Government granted international status to the airport on 3 May 2017. However, it was only after the state government offered viability gap funding (VGF) to airlines for operating international flights, that private operator IndiGo bid for the contract to operate two flights a week to Singapore.

On 4 December 2018, Indigo flight 6E 33 departed for Singapore Changi Airport, marking the inaugural international flight for Vijayawada and getting an international footprint for Vijayawada.

Expansion

A brand new integrated terminal building is under construction ever since its foundation stone was laid by the then Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on 4 December 2018. The 35,000m² (376,700 ft²) steel and glass structure is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of ₹ 611 crores (US$86 million). The new terminal is being designed for peak daily handling of 1,200 (600 domestic and 400 international) passengers, with 24 check-in counters, five conveyor belts, 14 immigration counters, three customs counters, and eight gates and six aerobridges, which can accommodate large widebody aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and Boeing 747. The new terminal's parking facilities will accommodate an additional 1,250 automobiles.

As of July 2024, 48.5% work on the new terminal has been completed and it is expected to be completed by June 2026.

Panorama of new terminal

Facilities

Structure

The airport is spread over 1265 acres. It has 24 parking bays for A320, B737, ATR-72, and Bombardier Q400.

Runways

The airport has one runway:

• Runway 08/26: 3,360 by 45 metres (11,024 ft × 148 ft), ILS CAT-1 equipped

The airport's runway can handle both narrow and wide body aircraft.

Terminal

The interim terminal spreads over 12,999 square metres and includes a check-in area, arrival hall, meet and greet service staircase, aviation lounge, and baggage pick up area. The lounge is spread over 3,613 square metres. The terminal can handle up to 500 passengers at a time and has 18 check-in counters, 2 conveyor belts, 6 gates.

• 
  Check-In area at the interim terminal
• 
  Domestic Departure Hall
• 
  Boarding Gates, Domestic Departure Hall
• 
  Interiors at Vijayawada Airport in 2020

Transport

Vijayawada Airport is situated on National Highway 16, which connects Chennai and Kolkata. Airport taxi services such as Ola Cabs, Uber, and Rapido are available for commuting within the city.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai
Air India Express	Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Sharjah, Visakhapatnam
Fly91	Hyderabad
IndiGo	Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kadapa, Kurnool, Mumbai, Singapore, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam
Sun PhuQuoc Airways	Phu Quoc (Charter)

Statistics

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Annual domestic passenger traffic and aircraft movements at Vijayawada Airport

Year	Domestic passenger traffic		Domestic aircraft movements
	Passengers	Percent change	Aircraft movements	Percent change
2025–26
2024–25	1,388,943	Template:Change
2023–24	1,025,734	Template:Change	14,934	Template:Change
2022–23	929,765	Template:Change	14,300	Template:Change
2021–22	579,111	Template:Change	8,833	Template:Change
2020–21	434,737	Template:Change	6,863	Template:Change
2019–20	1,125,551	Template:Change	15,190	Template:Change
2018–19	1,178,559	Template:Change	18,957	Template:Change
2017–18	746,392	Template:Change	11,999	Template:Change
2016–17	622,354	Template:Change	10,333	Template:Change
2015–16	398,643	Template:Change	6,676	Template:Change
2014–15	231,931	NA	4,639	NA

Accidents and incidents

• On 28 August 1980, Vickers Viscount VT-DJC of Huns Air was damaged beyond economic repair when the nosewheel collapsed after the aircraft bounced three times on landing.
• On 20 February 2021, an Air India Express aircraft was involved in ground incident, the aircraft wing impacted a floodlight pole while taxiing. No injuries were reported.

See also

• Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport
• Visakhapatnam Airport
• Tirupati Airport

External links

• Vijayawada Airport at Airports Authority of India website