Team Herald
PANJIM: The first charter flight with 275 passengers from Kazakhstan will arrive in Goa on the Christmas Day, according to Sita Travels Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ernest Dias.
“We are expecting two flights from Kazakhstan, one on December 25 and another on December 28. Every week two flights from Kazakhstan will arrive in Goa and this will go up to March next year,” Dias told Herald on Monday.
Also one charter from Russia will arrive in Goa on December 30.
“I cannot tell you anything. Situation is volatile. Four travel agents and bloggers from Kazakhstan are currently in Goa and they are going around, writing and taking pictures to promote the touristic State,” Dias said adding that the situation being normal, “we would have been rocking”.
“Normally around 2.5 lakh passengers visit Goa by chartered flights and maximum of them are brought by the Sita Travels,” he said.
According to Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) Nilesh Shah, all charters flights from UK to Goa have been deferred due to Omicron variant scare. The first chartered flight from UK was likely to arrive in Goa on December and another flights by December end but all have now been deferred.
Earlier, the travel operators were hopeful of resuming charter flights operations from first week of November after the Government of India move to open the doors for foreign tourists in a phased manner.
