Qatar-based Goans, seamen from South planning other routes to Dabolim
Qatar Airways began operations from Manohar International Airport at Mopa from Friday, with the first flight arriving at 2.30 am and departing to Doha at 3.40 am.
DOHA
After having transported lakhs of passengers between Doha and Dabolim since 2009, Qatar Airways long-standing partnership with Dabolim ended on Thursday when it shifted all operations to Manohar International Airport at Mopa.
The last departure of Qatar Airways from Doha to Dabolim was on June 19 and its last departure from Dabolim to Doha was on June 20.
At Mopa, the first Qatar Airways flight arrived at 2.30 am and departed to Doha at 3.40 am on Friday.
The decision by Qatar Airways to shift operations from Dabolim to Mopa has not gone down well with scores of Goans located all over the world.
Peter Pereira and Fermino Pereira are two individuals from different parts of South Goa. Both are Non-Resident Indians. One works on land while the second one makes his living in the cruising industry sailing the seas and has faced weather turbulence in different oceans.
Their surnames are the same, but they have no family links. One is from the temple town of Marcela and the second one is from the coastal village of Benaulim. Both of them have been frequent flyers with Qatar Airways flying from their respective destination to Goa, with Dabolim Airport as their favourite airport.
The Qatar Airways flight was a preferred one for many Goans based in different parts of the world including ones who are based in the UK, France, USA and other European countries. With Doha as connecting points for most inbound and outbound flights, the Goan passengers and western tourists alike, after a brief stopper in the Qatar capital, would land every day in the early hours at Dabolim Airport.
Besides the NRI Goans based in different countries, the passengers included a large number of Goan seamen working with different cruise liners. Goans based in Qatar also used to travel by the same flight as it used to be a direct flight which would take three and half hours to reach Goa.
That was in the past.
Many Goans have taken a change of heart and are shifting their loyalty from Qatar Airways to another airline.
Peter and Fermino are two of them. They have lined up plans to travel by different airlines, which take them to Dabolim airport and not to Mopa Airport.
Fermino, who quit his job at an educational institute to pursue a life at sea, has plans up his sleeve come August when he will be signing off after working six months on the seas.
“Come August, many of our seamen working with us on the ship will be travelling on Emirates Airlines which will land in Doha from Amsterdam and thereon we will take another airlines to Dubai and from Dubai we will land up at Dabolim Airport and not Mopa,” said Fermino, who was part of the Benaulim Inter Village football team which won many tournaments around Goa and briefly played in the top division of Goan football with Churchill Brothers Sports Club.
