Direct
international flights for Goa
Sandesh Prabhudesai
30 December 2002
Come
next tourist season and international tourists could land
directly in
Goa, especially the Americans and the Europeans.
Good news on the eve of the New Year is also for the Indian
passport holder NRIs. They will be now allowed to travel through
the charter flights landing in Goa, obviously at reasonable
charter rates of tariff.
The civil aviation ministry has also agreed to upgrade the
existing Dabolim airport to the international standards, even
by expanding its base and allowing 24-hour usage of the naval
airport.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar made these announcements
after holding
official meeting with civil aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussein
and
Goa-based minister of state for civil aviation Shripad Naik
in Goa.
Besides upgrading the existing Dabolim airport to international
standards
within two years at the cost of Rs 125 crore, the ministry
has also assured all kind of possible help to build the proposed
international airport at Mopa, on the northern border of the
tourist state.
"Both could be then used as the international air ports",
said Parrikar,
adding that Goa expects almost four million tourists in next
10 years, when the second airport would be hopefully completed.
While Goa presently receives around 1.4 million tourists
including 0.3
million foreign tourists, the state authorities here expect
the figure to
zoom up to 0.5 million once the direct flights from places
like New York or London start, before next season begins.
Though Goa is also expecting the number of charter flights
to go up to 400 by next year, Parrikar feels that arrival
of direct scheduled international flights here will bring
in not only the quantity but the quality - the affluent tourists.
Keeping these factors in mind, the civil aviation ministry
immediately
plans to spend around Rs 10 crore by September to provide
better facilities with less congestion. The expansion plan
however consists of doubling the capacity of the international
terminal and the parking base.
It would primarily include extension of apron, new international
terminal
with a capacity of 1000 passengers and other allied buildings
like new
cargo, aviation refuelling centre and reallocation of existing
AAI
residential colony.
The ministry has also planned a joint meeting next month
with defence
minister George Fernandes, to finalise the approval for 24-hour
usage of
the Dabolim airport, which is managed by the naval authorities,
with
minimum restrictions.
The Dabolim airport presently handles six lakh domestic tourists
and 2.5
lakh international tourists every year, giving operational
profit of Rs 12
crore. The charters however travel only between October and
May.
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