Goa’s Dabolim airport handled a record 104 flights over a 24-hour period on January 1 owing to thousands of tourists and others who arrived in the state to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said.
The AAI, which handles the passenger terminal at Dabolim, said the airport on Sunday beat its previous record of 102 flights, clocked on January 2 last year.
“On 1 January 2023, Goa International Airport handled 104 arrivals and 104 departures with 13,147 arrival passengers and 17,335 departure passengers,” the AAI said.
The figure is expected to return to 95 on Monday, including scheduled domestic and international flight, as well as chartered flights. The airport on most days handles anywhere between 85 and 95 flights over a 24-hour period.
The first tourism season after Covid-19, which was blighted by the resurgence of the Omicron variant, has shown encouraging signs and the number of tourists is likely to surpass that of pre-pandemic days.
Also Read:IndiGo flight from Hyderabad to be 1st to land at Goa’s new Manohar International Airport on Jan 5
{{/usCountry}}Also Read:IndiGo flight from Hyderabad to be 1st to land at Goa’s new Manohar International Airport on Jan 5
{{/usCountry}}Tourism in Goa peaks in the week between Christmas and New Year’s when millions of travellers from across the country wish to celebrate the occasions in Goa.
“We strive to ensure a hassle-free transit experience for our esteemed guests at the airport,” the AAI said.
Flights to and from Goa witness a huge demand during the New Year’s weekend, with flight fares soaring up to four times than the usual prices.
Later this month, with the Mopa international airport also scheduled to commence flight operations, the load at Dabolim airport is expected to ease, though the latter will remain functional for civilian operations. Several airlines, including IndiGo, GoFirst, Akasa Air and Oman Airways, have announced flights from the new airport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new airport on December 11 and named it Manohar International Airport after the former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar.