The Visakhapatnam Airport is all set to resume operations from Friday, with an Air India aircraft scheduled to fly into the yet at around 8.45am.

The flight, AI452 will take off from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, at 7.45am and touchdown at Vizag an hour later.

Airline authorities said the decision to begin commercial operations was taken following a go-ahead from the DGCA. The director of Airport Authority of India-manned facility at the Port City, C Pattabhi, insisted that the airport was "fit for use".

"Apart from the air-conditioning, all other facilities are in working condition. We will cover the roof with tarpaulin sheets and issue hand-written boarding passes to travellers. This will be the norm until the networks are restored. That apart, there should be no problem with security checks as that area has remained unaffected," Pattabhi said.

Private carriers including Indigo, SpiceJet and Air Costa too are expected to resume operations to and from Vizag in the next few days. "While DCGA has okayed the use of the airport with effect from October 17, Air Costa will resume its services from October 18. It will have two inward and two outward flights - a Hyderabad-Vizag-Bangalore and Bangalore-Vizag-Vijayawada - operating to and from Vizag. This will continue until October 25, after which we will have a new winter schedule," the official spokesperson of Air Costa said.