Government likely to upgrade Goa's Dabolim airport

Goa's Dabolim international airport, located in the port town of Vasco, about 30 km from the capital city Panaji, is expected to join the league of modern airports. The government is planning to upgrade the airport with state-of-the-art facilities by 2008. Highly placed sources said that the government was in the process of acquiring nine acres of land from the Navy for the purpose. According to the plan, the runway would be expanded and a parking space for around five aircrafts would be constructed in order to ease the congestion. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will expand the building, which will have an international standard state-of-the-art facility. This is expected to be completed by 2008. Besides escalators, seven aero bridges are being planned. “It will be a new concept in Goa and that seven big aircrafts would be able to park together along these aero bridges,” sources added. The Dabolim airport was handed over to the Indian Navy by the government after the exit of the erstwhile Portuguese regime.

The airport is facing severe congestion problems especially with more and more charter flights coming to Goa. More than 850 charter flights are expected to land in Goa during the current season that would bring in over two lakh foreign tourists, compared with last year’s over 700 charter flights bringing in around 1.5 lakh tourists. Charter flights from UK, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, Finland and Spain have been arriving in Goa every year. Sri Lanka Airlines has already started its direct flights from Colombo from this year. Over the past few months, several foreign private airlines including Virgin Airlines from Europe, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Midland from Manchester and Air Arabia from Sharjah are ready to run flights directly to Goa. As part of the talks between the Navy, which controls the Goa airport, and the AAI, the Navy has agreed to allow direct landing of all scheduled flights in Goa instead of Mumbai even as Air-India is considering starting a direct flight between Dubai and Goa.

Flag Officer Commanding Goa Area and Flag Officer Naval Aviation Rear Admiral (FOGA), Sanjay Vadgaonkar, stated that the night operations are yet to find takers at the Dabolim airport, even as civil flights enjoy most of the flying time at the airport. “Military flights operate from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm. Almost 84 per cent of the time has been given to civil operators, though they do not utilise it. Civil operations take place from 6.30 am to 8 am and from 1.30 pm to 6.30 pm. The night slot remains totally unused,” he said. The Navy has spent around Rs 75 crore to upgrade facilities at the Dabolim airport. Rear Admiral Vadgaonkar said the Navy had also spent around Rs 40 crore for the expansion of the runway, which is extended to 3.1 km to cater to any aircraft. “Exclusive radars for civil aircraft are installed and most of the operations are carried out for civil air traffic,” he added. “The AAI will soon be pressing into service the instrument landing facility to operate flights during nights,” assures Goa deputy chief minister, Wilfred D’ Souza, who also holds the tourism portfolio. According to D’Souza, these steps would strengthen the airport to meet the projected future traffic, which is expected to touch 4,308 international flights and 17,480 domestic flights by the year 2013-14 as against 1,402 and 7,422 flights, respectively, in 1995-96.

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