KARSTEN MIRANDA, FREDDY FERNANDES & CLINTON D’SOUZA
MOPA/MARGAO/ VASCO: There is reality, blurred reality, and a mirage. If the possibility of the Dabolim airport after the Mopa international airport starts is a vision being sold to the people of Goa, especially South Goa, the people who know and are aware know it is a mirage.
The aerial distance between the two airports is too little to allow dual airports in this range.
“The aerial distance between the two airports is too small and this could even be dangerous for flights.” I think Dabolim will die a slow death and the writing is on the wall,” said Serafin Cota, President of the Small and Medium Hoteliers’ Association of Goa.
Cota further added, “Will it be feasible for airlines to keep two sets of staff, engineers at two airports in Goa? You need personnel at the counters, and workers to service the aircraft at the hangar, for parking, maintenance, loading, and other issues. Is it possible to do this? In other countries, they are combining two airports into one and here in our small Goa, they are going for two airports.”
Notwithstanding “assurances” given by Dabolim MLA and Minister Mauvin Godinho, stakeholders in tourism, travel, and aviation are practical and get straight to the point. Dixon Vaz, the Vice President of the S&M Hoteliers Association asks a direct question. “What happens if the Navy asks the Indian government to occupy the Dabolim airport 24/7 in the interest of national security and on the grounds that Goa already has another huge airport at Mopa? That will be the final nail in the coffin of the tourism industry.
Abhijit Prabhudesai, who was a key part of the anti-Mopa agitation and was earlier employed as the Chief Engineer at the Dubai International Airport said international tourism as a whole will change for the worse once Mopa airport starts.
“International tourism is a very sensitive sector. Mopa Airport will require a higher handling cost as it is a private airport. Moreover, the government had conducted a study through ADPI and ICAO in 2005 and 2007 on dual airports that recommended that dual airports are not recommended for Goa,” Prabhudesai added.
But the view is very much the same among those in North Goa, especially those who are still fighting for the rights of Mopa land losers. Sanjay Barde, President of Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sanghatna, “warned,” that the plan “will be implemented slowly and not before the 2024 Parliamentary elections”.
He felt that up to 2024 the first phase of the Mopa airport will be developed, which includes the runways, terminal buildings, etc. But after the third phase “is unleashed”, Dabolim airport may face closure.
Vasudev Deshprabhu, who is from the lineage of the erstwhile Viscount de Pernem and a former chairperson of the Pernem Municipal Council, and who understands the dynamics of Pernem well, underlined that the issue is not exactly in the hands of Goa’s politicians. The decision to shut down Dabolim will be taken due to the dynamics of the industry and the need for the Naval authorities to run this as a naval airport only.
He said, “The closure of the Dabolim Airport, with the opening of Mopa, is a certainty. If The Air Traffic Controller at Dabolim, a Naval officer gets instructions from the Centre to divert traffic to Mopa, will any pilot dare to disobey him?” Deshprabhu cautioned.
Bharat Bagkar, the President of the Mopa Vimantal Pidit Panchkroshi Janasanghatana threw light on how entertainment hospitality, and business will move to the Pernem zone. “All aero companies will cancel their landings at Dabolim and shift to Mopa due to the entertainment, pleasure, and casino zones planned around it,” he said.
South Goans have no doubt that Mopa will cut the nerve of tourism. Moreover, experts are clear that neither emotion nor politics will come into play. Herd realities stare at us. Once the Mopa airport becomes fully operational ultimately the airlines will follow what Oman Air has done and shift all their flights to Mopa directly.
One such expert is Vito Gomes, the Dubai-based CEO of Aviation Services Management, who has vast experience in providing service in the global aviation industry.
“The number of passengers will never reach the peak of 20 million. Secondly, the airports will never be able to connect to international routes as Goa is an off-the-way point for an airline to operate via Goa to other destinations. Thirdly do we even know the planned infrastructure that will come into place to keep the two airports operational,” Gomes added.
Elsewhere, Serafin Cota made a very valid point about Charters no longer wanting to use Dabolim. “There is a golden rule that the tourists arriving via Charters should reach their hotels within 45 minutes after landing as they have already endured an 8-to-10-hour journey to Goa. That choice of hotel is taken by the Charter company and the tour operator. They won’t choose the South anymore,” said Cota.
A common consensus amongst hoteliers in the South is that South Goa will have to rebrand itself and deal with the reality that the number of tourists that visit Dabolim via Air India or Qatar Airways will be minimal.
Dixon Vaz, the Vice President of the S&M Hoteliers’ Association and Cavelossim Sarpanch added they are already facing key existential questions and it is going to be a difficult road for them in the future.
“Given that Mopa will start operations soon, the first and the biggest question that arises is how South Goa will be able to deal with the issue of the distance it will take for tourists to travel from Mopa. Bookings have already dropped by 20-30% right now,” said Vaz.
On a similar note, other activists, who were part of the Goa for Dabolim Only group, gave examples of the number of Ghost Airports that exist in India where there are two airports in the same State.
For instance, the Jaisalmer Airport in Rajasthan, which was constructed in 2013 failed to take off. They added that the Rs 600 crore has been spent on nearly 25 airports across India recently but they have not handled a single scheduled flight till now, as it was not financially viable.
Interestingly the only contrarian viewpoint was put forth by Columnist and public intellectual Savio Correia from Vasco. “I do not foresee any drastic economic impact on Vasco or South Goa in a situation of Dabolim’s closure though it may cause some discomfort to a few establishments. The road network between Mopa and South Goa is being developed, so there shouldn’t be any accessibility issues. Vasco town never benefited from Dabolim from a tourism point of view. On the other hand, there could be several positives, like less traffic and less pressure on land, resources, and on the socio-economic life of ‘South Goans’.