United Goa firm on Dabolim airport’s fate: ‘Touching it will kill economy’

The Chief Minister’s Office issued a categorical statement: “Speculation suggesting that consent has been given to discontinue civilian services at Dabolim Airport is incorrect and misleading.” But that has done little to quell apprehensions.

“It will be a death knell for tourism,” said Valencio Savio Goes, a third-generation taxi driver and a prominent member of the North and South Goa taxi union, echoing fears of many in the tourism industry. “The entire economy of South Goa will be hit hard. Who will want to take a three-hour taxi ride from Mopa to Palolem and pay Rs 4,500 after taking an hour-long flight from Mumbai or Bengaluru?”

The Dabolim airport does a fair share of heavy lifting for Goa, with a footfall of about 63 lakh domestic passengers and 2 lakh international passengers last year. The newer airport in Mopa handled 47.1 lakh domestic passengers and 3.9 lakh international passengers in 2025.

The history — and why it matters

Built by the Portuguese as a civilian airport in 1955, it was taken over by the Indian Navy’s air wing soon after Goa was liberated in December 1961. Coming under the Ministry of Defence, the airport currently operates as a civil enclave in the military airbase INS Hansa. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) maintains an international civil enclave for civil aircraft operations, with the Indian Navy providing air traffic services.

“It was the first airport in the country to receive charters — special flights for holidaymakers from Europe who came to Goa during vacations,” said Jack Sukhija, president, Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG).

Dabolim’s central location has significantly contributed to the state’s growth as a tourism hub, and particularly helped develop South Goa as a luxury tourist area.

Vinay Albuquerque, director of a Goa hospitality group, said, “You can reach Mandrem and Arambol in the far North in 90 minutes (from Dabolim) and commute to the extreme South… down to Palolem in almost the same time.”

Hansel Vaz, founder of Goa’s Cazulo premium feni, added, “It is also a logistics hub… in the sense that a port, industrial estates and railway terminal are all nearby and it offers good road connectivity.”

Albuquerque cautioned that any plan to shut the airport will crush the booming tourism industry in the southern part of the coastal state. “The one-way taxi fare from Mopa (airport to South Goa) will be approximately Rs 5,000. For a family travelling on a budget, it’s going to be extremely difficult to spend that kind of money only on taxi transfers. For larger hotels, people may not come, not so much because of the budget but because of transfer times. Businesses in Palolem and Agonda in South Goa will be wiped out,” Albuquerque said.

When the Mopa airport was first approved in 2000, the Ministry of Civil Aviation recommended closing Dabolim airport for civilian operations upon the new airport’s commissioning. Following protests, the ministry constituted a task force and, in July 2010, modified its decision to allow continuation of civilian aircraft operations at Dabolim.

In 2023, Goa’s second airport — Manohar International Airport at Mopa in North Goa, developed by GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited — opened for commercial operations. The rationale cited for the two airports was to “cater to the growing passenger footfall”, sustain tourism growth and create employment, with the government estimating that the new airport is expected to handle 13.1 million passengers by 2036.

In August 2023, after some international and domestic airlines shifted operations from Dabolim to Manohar International Airport, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wrote to then Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, urging him to ask airlines to “reverse their decision”.

“Although time and again, the Government of Goa has assured the residents of South Goa that civilian aircraft operations from Dabolim airport would continue, this shifting of operations by airlines has created fear among different industries, particularly the hotel industry… and people who earn their livelihood from Dabolim airport. This may potentially lead to instability/agitations among people of Goa,” the communique said.

With rumours of closure rife again, stakeholders such as the TTAG are again seeking intervention. “It has always been critical to Goa as the state’s primary, centrally located and historic air gateway, managing a large bulk of passenger traffic and handling a vast amount of international charter flights. It would be pertinent to note that even the Kashmir airport functions as a defence and civilian airport,” the association said.

Across the aisle, agreement on keeping it running

Last week, state Transport Minister Godinho and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade wrote to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking his intervention for “continued unhindered operations” at Dabolim airport. The letter, dated February 10, said several stakeholders in South Goa were concerned that shifting all commercial operations to Mopa would be detrimental to livelihoods.

Godinho did not respond to calls seeking a comment.

In a post on X last Thursday, Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal called any plan to shut commercial operations at the airport “unacceptable”, saying, “The BJP government at the Centre is planning to convert Dabolim exclusively for defence purposes. Dabolim acts as a lifeline for South Goa… We will fight to keep Dabolim for civil purposes.”

South Goa’s Congress MP Capt Viriato Fernandes called it a “clear conspiracy to end commercial flights under the guise of security measures post Operation Sindoor”.

“Almost 4.5 lakh to 5 lakh people are directly and indirectly dependent on the commercial operations at Dabolim airport for their livelihood. We are not saying the airport will shut down entirely. It will continue as a naval airport, but civilian and commercial operations are being systematically pushed out,” he claimed.

The government has denied these allegations. “Any speculation suggesting that consent has been given to discontinue civilian services at Dabolim Airport is incorrect and misleading. Goa presently benefits from a dual-airport system, with operations at both Dabolim and Manohar International Airport, Mopa,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte claimed that speculation was being driven by some “insecure people ahead of elections”. “This issue has been raised several times in the past and has been addressed,” he said. “Tourism in Goa started with Dabolim airport. With several enhancements in infrastructure at the airport, we are very clear that Dabolim airport will continue to be operational,” he said, adding that both airports were “required for Goa’s development as a tourist destination.