Goa: Dabolim Airport to Stay Open, Govt Clarifies

Panaji, Feb 12 (PTI) Opposition parties on Thursday claimed that the Union government was planning to close the Goa International Airport at Dabolim in South Goa, but a state minister said there was no such plan.

Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho told PTI that he met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after learning that the GMR group, which operates Manohar International Airport in North Goa, was "lobbying" for turning the Dabolim airport into an exclusive naval facility. Singh assured that both the airports will remain operational for commercial air traffic, he said.

The Dabolim airport is part of INS Hansa, the premier air station of the Indian Navy. The talk about its possible closure started after Godinho and Rajya Sabha member Sadanand Tanavade met Rajnath Singh in Delhi earlier this week.

The coastal state, known as a tourist haven, has two airports: The one at Dabolim and the Manohar International Airport at Mopa.

Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai claimed that the defence minister called Godinho to Delhi to inform him that the Dabolim facility would be handed over entirely to the Navy.

He also demanded that Godinho resign as a minister and an MLA for 'failing' to save the airport, and warned of an agitation over the issue after the carnival celebrations are over.


Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should make a categorical statement on the issue within a week, Sardesai said.

Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar said party MP Viriato Fernandes had written to the defence minister and urged him not to close the airport. The closure will be a disaster for the South Goa district and its tourism industry, he said.

The Congress-led UPA government had taken a cabinet decision that both the airports will remain functional for commercial services, Patkar said, adding, "I don't know why the Modi government is hell-bent on closing it."

When contacted, minister Godinho said there has been no such decision.

He met Rajnath Singh after it was learnt that the GMR group which manages Manohar Airport was "lobbying to turn Dabolim Airport into an exclusive naval facility," the minister said.

But Singh assured him that both the airports will remain operational, he added.