In a relief to air charter operators, the Indian Navy today agreed to withraw its notification on partial closure of the runway at Dabolim airport for maintenance on weekends following its talks with the Goa govenment.
The announcement was made by the Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho after he held a meeting with the Indian Navy at Vasco today.
Yesterday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had also held a marathon meeting with the Indian Navy and Airports Authority of India (AAI) yesterday.
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Dabolim Airport, which is the only aerodrome in the state, is located at INS Hansa base and is managed by the Indian Navy, while the civilian operations are also allowed there.
"The closure would have impacted the arrival of flights in Goa, especially the chartered planes. Indian Navy has been kind enough to withdraw their particular notification," Godinho, who represents the constituency where Dabolim airport and INS Hansa is located, said after the meeting.
The Navy had recently ordered the closure of runway for two-and-half hours on the weekend for its maintenance, triggering fear of large scale flight cancellations, particularly the chartered ones amind the onset of the tourists season.
The season for chartered flights generally begins from October and goes on till May next year when the last flight departs a little before the arrival of the monsoon.
The decision of the Indian Navy augurs well for the tourism industry, the minister said adding that the flight operations will now remain normal as the runway will be available for full time.
Godinho said that the Navy wanted to maintain the runway "to clear off the debris that is generated due to frequent use of the strip by the aircraft".
The minister, however, clarified that withdrawal of the notification "does not mean that Indian Navy is going to compromise on the safety of the flights".
The minister allayed fears that the current tourist season will have less chartered planes arriving in the state.
"If you go by the bookings, there is 37 per cent increase in the chartered flight arrivals in the state for this season," he said.
Goa is constructing the second airport at Mopa in North Goa, whose first phase is expected to be commissioned in the year 2020.
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