PANAJI
With commercial flights operating from the Manohar International Airport (MIA) since Thursday, the Dabolim Airport has already begun to encounter a drop in flights.
Details have revealed that the number of flights operating from Dabolim dropped from 90 on Thursday to 82 on Saturday.
This trend was also witnessed at Dabolim Airport on Sundays, which usually has more flight operations for the weekend, with flights operating from Dabolim dropping from 104 on January 1 to 98 on January 8.
According to sources, a decline of 6-8 flights per day has a significant impact on operations at Dabolim airport. A drop in hundreds of passengers per day has a direct impact on the business of taxi operators, food outlets and other services at Dabolim airport.
‘NO IMPACT AT DABOLIM’: When contacted, Goa (Dabolim) Airport Director Dhananjaya Rao insisted that flight operations at Mopa Airport did not have an impact on Dabolim airport, adding that it was difficult to assess and compare two different airports within a few days.
"There is absolutely no impact on operations at Goa Airport as of now and we are handling our normal number of flights. We had a peak time during the festive season and handled as many as 104 flights on New Year's day. The number of flights handled by Goa airport keeps changing every day and while we have many flights on some days, it may be less on other days but this does not mean there is an impact on Goa airport," said Rao.
"Secondly, we cannot come to any conclusions immediately and we can get to know more information only after a period of two months minimum. We are not in competition with anyone and our aim is to offer good services to passengers," said Rao.
As far as Indigo flights are considered, the airport director said they were unsure if they had opened a new sector and added that they were unaware of the footfall of passengers at Mopa Airport.
“We cannot judge any situation now. We are not sure if they have operated a new flight or a new sector or have opened to new bookings there, but this has not impacted Dabolim Airport in anyway,” said Rao.
“There are chances there could be a new sector or they may have same sector operating simultaneously, wherein one day it may come to Goa airport and other day go to Mopa airport and that is their call.”
“Sometimes in the past, when we expected 90 flights from different sectors, three-four flights would get cancelled from some sectors. Hence, it is difficult to say anything till things stabilise and we have more details. As of now, we have not seen any impact on Goa Airport at Dabolim," said Rao.
