Initially, the new airport terminal had no provision for airline counters, offices for customs and immigration, and the promised aerobridges were nowhere in sight. It also lacked proper interior designing and installation of necessary signage.
The haste to get the terminal operational was the Lusofonia Games held in January 2014 and the Macau team arriving in Goa was the first set of passengers to inaugurate the newly-built airport terminal.
The airport terminal was made operational on January 16, and the problems soon came to the fore. The multi-level parking constructed by the airport failed to get security clearance from the airport security agencies and has been lying vacant till date.
Though the counters and offices for the airlines, customs and immigrations were set up and the aerobridges were installed, the new terminal still does not have a full-fledged traffic and police station. These two offices still operate from a small room at the old airport terminal.
Since January, millions of travellers have used the new terminal and yet the authorities have failed to provide toilet facilities for visitors and parking facilities for vehicles stopping at the airport.
Though the Airport Advisory Committee Chairman and South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar had promised to install drinking water facilities and toilets on priority, these facilities are yet to appear in the terminal.
Safety of flights at the Dabolim airport was also jeopardised when an Air India plane had a bird-hit on November 19, bringing to the fore the dangers associated with garbage dumping within the 10-km radius of the airport.
Though a meeting was convened between South Goa Collector Venancio Furtado, the airport director and naval officials to work out means to tackle the garbage menace outside the airport, no action has been taken. As a result, garbage continues to be dumped by the highway and other internal roads within the 10-km radius of the airport.
