Historic Vishakhapatnam Airport Closes After Six Decades of Service

After more than fifty years of civilian operations, Vishakhapatnam Airport (INS Dega) bid farewell to its commercial fleet on the night of August 16. The final scheduled airline departure was Indigo flight 6E‑2018 bound for Delhi, which lifted off at 10:45 pm, ending a chapter that began during World War II and opened to public flights in 1962.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has stipulated that the civil enclave will not host regular commercial services for the next three decades, remaining available only for emergency, defence, police and VIP flights. The cessation impacts roughly 1,000 airport‑related jobs, prompting workers to request alternative employment from state and central authorities.

To ease passenger movement between the city and the new airport, the administration launched a fleet of 20 electric buses linking Vishakhapatnam and Bhogapuram. Meanwhile, airlines such as Indigo, Air India Express and others continue to operate routes to Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai from the new hub.