Dabolim Airport

Dabolim Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/public
OwnerGovernment of Goa
Indian Navy[2]
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesPanaji, Goa
LocationDabolim, Goa, India
Opened1955; 69 years ago (1955)
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL56 m / 184 ft
Coordinates15°22′51″N 073°49′53″E / 15.38083°N 73.83139°E / 15.38083; 73.83139
WebsiteGoa Airport
Maps
Map of Dabolim Airport
Map of Dabolim Airport
VAGO is located in Goa
VAGO
VAGO
VAGO is located in India
VAGO
VAGO
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 3,430 11,253 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 – March 2024)
Passengers6,872,411 (Decrease 18.3%)
Aircraft movements44,180 (Decrease 22.4%)
Cargo tonnage6,098 (Decrease 5.5%)
Source: AAI[3][4][5]

Dabolim Airport (IATA: GOI, ICAO: VAGO)[1] is an international airport serving Panaji, the capital of the state of Goa, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as a civil enclave in an Indian Navy naval airbase named INS Hansa. The airport is located in Dabolim, in South Goa district, 4 km (2.5 mi) from the nearest city of Vasco da Gama, 23 km (14 mi) from Margao, and about 30 km (19 mi) from the state capital, Panaji.[6]

The airport's integrated terminal was inaugurated in December 2013. It was designed by Creative Group, an India-based architecture firm. In fiscal year 2022-2023, the airport handled around 8.5 million passengers.[7] Since fiscal year 2023-24, the airport has been witnessing decline in passenger, air and cargo traffic, due to the excess traffic taken by the new airport as the second airport of the state.[3] Several European charter airlines fly to Goa seasonally, typically between November and May. Until 2022, flights from the UK (London Gatwick Airport and Manchester Airport) were operated by TUI Airways and Air India, which operated on a daily basis, before both the airlines shifted to the new airport in 2023 to relieve the growing excess traffic in this airport.[8][9] As of 2024, there are also several seasonal charter flights to various Russian cities.

Because of capacity constraints at the terminal and air traffic congestion due to the military and naval presence, a second airport at Mopa was proposed. It completed its construction on 11 December 2022, with operations starting from 5 January 2023.[10][11][12] It is located approximately 60 km (37 mi) from Dabolim Airport.

  1. ^ a b Dabolim VAGO
  2. ^ "Two airports likely for Goa". Business Standard India. Business-standard.com. 16 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Airports Authority of India". aai.aero. 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. ^ "TUI FILES UK – GOA MANOHAR SCHEDULE IN NW23". Aeroroutes. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  9. ^ Shetye, Murari (12 July 2023). "Air India flight to London to kick off Mopa's international innings on July 21". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  10. ^ "GMR Infra to develop Mopa airport in Goa". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Goa government notifies planning area at Mopa". The Times of India.
  12. ^ "Mopa airport in North Goa to start flight operations from September 1". Zee News. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.