According to recent news reports, Tourism Minister, Dilip Parulekar said that the Indian Navy has been directed by the Central authorities to make necessary arrangements to hand over additional land to the Airports Authority of India for parking of aircraft, landing at Dabolim Airport, a proposal which the naval officials have agreed to.
This is welcome news for Goans and must be pursued by the Tourism Department and GFDO, who unfortunately have remained silent on the report. Undeniably, Dabolim airport can attain its full potential, if it is made available for civilian use 24 hours a day, as in the case of other airports in the country.
For example, the Naval Eastern Command fleet is based at Vishakhapatnam. Crucially, the submarine base is also at Vishakhapatnam. All these vital naval assets are protected by the naval air arm from the Vishakhapatnam naval air base – “INS Dega” which shares its aerodrome with a civilian airport enclave and is open to civilian air traffic 24 hours a day. Naval aircraft training also takes place at Vishakhapatnam’s “INS Dega” but there are no timing restrictions on civilian aircraft operations.
On the contrary, Dabolim airport which is a civilian airport with a naval enclave “INS Hansa”, civilian operations are suspended on all week days from 8.30 hrs. to 13.00 hrs to permit naval training. Why are these restrictions not done away with? Vishakhapatnam naval airbase “INS Dega” is strategically much more important than Dabolim “INS Hansa”. Moreover, the newly constructed naval airbase “INS Kadamba” at Karwar will be the base for the newly acquired Mig29K and the helicopter fleet, while Mig29 training will take place at Belgaum airbase of the Indian Air Force.
Likewise, Pune civil airport is a civilian enclave in the strategic Lohegaon air force base. Three of the top air force squadrons are based at the Lohegaon airbase. Yet Civilian flight operations are permitted 24 hours a day at Pune, then why not at Dabolim?
Will our Defence Minister and the Navy sincerely live up to this promise, so that Dabolim civilian airport can attain its full potential at tiny fraction of the cost, instead of building another airport at Mopa.
