Retain Visakhapatnam airport for domestic flights after Bhogapuram opens: CPI(M)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M), has demanded that the existing Visakhapatnam airport be retained as a domestic airport even after the proposed commissioning of the new international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s district office on Thursday (July 9, 2026), CPI(M) district secretary M. Jaggu Naidu alleged that the Centre and the State government had entered into an agreement with GMR to close the Visakhapatnam airport after the Bhogapuram airport became operational. He contended that shutting down the airport, which has been functioning for decades, would adversely affect employment, tourism, transport and the services sector, besides increasing travel time and costs for passengers.

Mr. Jaggu Naidu asked Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and the MLAs and MLCs from the district to intervene and ensure that the airport continued to operate as a domestic facility. He said domestic services to cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Vijayawada should continue from Visakhapatnam, while Bhogapuram airport could be used for international operations.

As part of its campaign, the CPI(M) will organise bike rallies from July 10 to 13 and submit representations to the MP, MLAs and MLCs, demanding that steps be taken to prevent the closure of the airport.