I am a regular winter visitor to Goa (from the UK) and having just read your article ‘Traffic chaos at Dabolim airport’ (Herald, 27 Nov) I was reminded of my recent arrival there a few weeks ago. Yes, it was total chaos and my taxi driver had great difficulty picking me up as I had great difficulty removing myself from the airport arrivals apron with all my bags and trolley.
And also being able to find him again when he went to get his taxi which had to be parked some quarter of a kilometre away! It was total madness and there is absolutely no infrastructure in place for dropping off and picking up passengers. So I was pleased to read that a new multi-storey car park has already been built, yet through the apparent incompetence and inadequacies of the relevant Goa government offices, and airport planning, this sorely needed car park cannot be used.
I have great empathy with the traffic police there, but their continual whistling of their whistles only added to the cacophony of noise and confusion that passengers have to face when they arrive at Dabolim airport and leave the new terminal building, after such a pleasant experience inside it. Utilizing the new terminal building is, indeed, a pleasant experience compared to the old terminal. The staff are very helpful, polite and smiling (the same as before, but with less stress on their faces). But the experience for passengers outside the terminal is quite the opposite with people shouting, horns blowing, police whistles whistling, and being surrounded by aggressive taxi drivers and stern-looking policemen and airport staff… Thus, the road outside is totally unacceptable in its present form, as a convenient place to pick up or drop off passengers… and clearly there is absolutely no provision for arriving VIPs whose drivers would happily hog what space there is and create further chaos and disruption to the normal flow of passengers… ‘normal’ in this case being a nightmare. Come on Goa…. Get the parking sorted, and allow the new terminal to do its job properly, from an un-panicky arrival at the airport to a smooth departure from the airport… as inside the new terminal, huge numbers of people are handled nicely, coolly and calmly. Of course, this is India, full of contrasts… but, really, is there any need for a far distant white elephant called Mopa?… Once the tragic parking problems at Dabolim airport have been sorted out?
