The only airport of the famous world resort near the town of Vasco da Gama in the state of Goa (India) is Goa Dabolim International Airport. Tourists from Russia know it by one of the two terminals operating on international flights. The second terminal is adapted to receive passengers of domestic destinations. In total, the airport works with more than two dozen different carrier airlines.
From here there are flights to different countries world and their cities, including:
- internal to India: Delhi, Bombay, Agra, Mumbai, Nakpur, Lucknow, etc.;
- international: to Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk), Ukraine (Kyiv), Great Britain (London), Kazakhstan (Almaty), etc.
The flight board includes mainly charter flights, domestic destinations are covered by regular flights.
History of development
The history of the airport near the small Indian village of Dabolim, located in the central part of the Indian state of Goa, dates back to the late fifties of the last century. The favorable location of this area near the administrative center of the state - the city of Panaji attracted the attention of the then Portuguese-colonial leadership. The authorities decided to build an airport here for TAIP aircraft, which served destinations in Mozambique, Karachi, etc. At the same time, the airport was used to receive flights from the Portuguese metropolis.
With India gaining independence from Great Britain, the Indians began to gradually annex to their state other territories that previously belonged to other states by colonial affiliation. Among such objects recaptured by the Indian Air Force was the airport in Dabolim, which finally passed into the hands of the Indian authorities in early 1962.
The airport, which suffered aerial bombardment, did not carry out any civilian flights for a long time, becoming a military airfield for the Indian Air Force. Even today, after decades, it is still in the hands of the military, including for military aircraft.
However, thanks to the perseverance of the authorities of Goa, it is still possible to find a common language with the military, because, in addition, in Goa, a popular Indian resort, there is no longer any airport. Meanwhile, for the development of tourism, the main sphere of the economy of this territory, the airport is essential. After all, it is through the air that the main movements of tourists to these places are carried out, and it is the tourism industry that is the backbone of the development of the entire state and India as a whole.
Features of air communication Goa
In general, Dabolim Airport is a complex located on 101 hectares of land. It has two terminals, more precisely, there were two until 2014, when a new terminal was built and inaugurated, connected to both terminals at once. So all the services necessary for a modern airport are provided here.
Basically, the airport specializes in charter flights and hosts them in the amount of approximately 90 percent of all charters in India. It is they that form the basis of the Goa airport scoreboard: most of all flights belong to charters, by the way, every third board of them is departing from Russia. Among the Russians, Dabolim Airport is really extremely popular, it has gained just as much popularity among the inhabitants of the UK.
The Indians themselves rarely use air services - the country is poor, and the prices for air travel are exorbitant in the understanding of the average local resident. So the main part of the flights here are charter international flights, while domestic flights complete the overall picture. In general, the airport passes through a tenth of all foreign passengers traveling to India for tourism purposes.
Services, service, information at Goa airport
In general, the airport provides services that are quite tolerable for such a small facility. There is:
- free Internet,
- duty free shops and souvenir shops,
- luggage packing;
- cafe, etc.
As for the information security of passengers, for this purpose, the airport has help desk where you can find out everything about air tickets, flights. There are a number of information boards with up-to-date information. There is a system of voice notification about the status of flights. However, according to tourists, constant noise at the airport and slurred alerts are inconvenient, so passengers receive the most accurate and understandable information at Goa airport from online scoreboard arrivals and departures of aircraft. Flight delays at the airport can also be reported with the help of inscriptions on simple boards such as chalk price tags.
Goa airport online scoreboard
About how Dabolim Airport works, you can tell the online scoreboard of charter flights. This board gives information about which aircraft are delayed, which aircraft are expected to arrive, the departure time of those prepared for flight aircraft etc. The most recent, up-to-date and accurate information on the time of departure and arrival of aircraft is collected here. Like other similar information systems in different parts of the world, the information board works in local time, which must be taken into account when applying for information.
Up-to-date information is also posted on the official website of the airport in Goa at the link https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en&tl=ru&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F&anno=2 you can find the main page of the site (it is in English, but the text is automatically translated), from the main one you can also find the online arrivals board of the departure of aircraft, respectively, the links https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en &tl=ru&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F and https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en&tl=ru&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F .
Thus, passengers have the opportunity not only to track the location of the aircraft directly from the information at the airport, but also to find it out via the Internet.
Follow these links to check all departures and arrivals of aircraft at Goa Dabolim Airport, which serves the Goa region of India. The list contains all the data on the status of the departing or arriving flight.
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Dabolim Airport is the only airport in the state of Goa. The airport serves regular and charter flights. The bulk of the passengers are foreign tourists, since locals most often travel by train due to lack of money for air tickets. The airport terminal consists of two terminals, one of which accepts international flights.
Tourists often complain that the Goa airport is not properly equipped. For example, you need to keep in mind that information about departures and arrivals on the scoreboard is often delayed. In addition, you need to keep your eyes open here, as the locals strive to cash in on inexperienced tourists.The airport is located between North and South Goa, 30 km from the capital - the city of Panaji. You can get to your desired location by regular bus or by taxi. Most travelers prefer the latter option.
Goa airport terminal
Previously, there were 2 passenger terminals at the Goa airport: for domestic and international flights. In 2014, a new modern building terminal, uniting both terminals under one roof. International departure zones: A, B, C. Domestic flight zones: D, E, F, G, H. The capacity of the new terminal is about 4 million passengers per year.
Terminal scheme
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Services for travelers
- duty free shops
- mother and baby room
- lounge for transit passengers
Goa airport has everything you need for a tourist while waiting for a flight. Many travelers note that prices at the airport are very high. So, for example, it is completely unprofitable to buy local SIM cards here.
Online scoreboard of arrivals and departures
How to get to the airport
Taxi
The “officials” desk is located at the exit from the airport, it works around the clock. You just need to tell where you are going and the staff will issue a receipt. There is also a stand with indication of resorts and distances to them. The approximate cost of the trip is from 425-510 INR. Let's say to get to one of the most beautiful Goa beaches- Palolema, - you will have to pay about 2300 INR (distance 67 km). The prices are rather high, so it is more profitable to go with a group of several people. Prices on the page are for October 2018.
It is unprofitable to change money at Dabolim Airport. Therefore, if you do not want to pay for a taxi in advance, you need to inform about it. On the way, the driver will stop near the exchange office where you can change money at a better rate, and collect the fare upon arrival at the place.
When ordering a taxi, it is worth haggling, as sometimes the initial price can be a little high.
Bus
Goa airport tied bus routes with the city of Vasco da Gama and the village of Chikalim, from where you can get to Panaji and then transfer to buses to the resorts. But buses run irregularly and are almost always overcrowded. The cost of a ticket to Panaji will be about 85 INR in total.
Goa is a very popular place among tourists from the CIS countries. You can understand this, since this resort has a huge number of advantages. This is one of the smallest Indian states. By itself, it is a complete coastline washed by the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Arriving here, tourists get into real paradise, as if descended from postcards: palm trees, White sand, clear sea, exotic temples and resorts. At the same time, rest in India is very cheap, it is considered, perhaps, the most affordable in the world. The only thing that can darken Russian tourists is the presence of a visa.
Since Goa is not a separate island or state, but still a state of India, you need to draw up documents here. However, any traveler will tell you that this country willingly and without any bureaucratic delays gives visas for holidays, without requiring a huge package of papers. Therefore, getting the desired permission to visit the resort is not difficult. In order to get to this state, you need to make a flight from Russia. Naturally, when you travel for the first time, questions arise, which airport of arrival in GOA will you visit and what do you need to know about it in general?
If you have a question, which airport do planes fly to in GOA, then just remember the name - Dabolim. It makes no sense to fly to India to another state and from there already get to the resort. After all, we are talking about a modern air harbor. It is located four kilometers from the small town of Vasco da Gama. It is about 30 kilometers to get to a large administrative center.
The statistics that relate to this airport are as follows:
- Dabolim receives 700 foreign aircraft per year;
- most of the flights are charter;
- one third of them are Russian companies and airplanes;
- at the same time, quite a few flights also follow from other states, and tourists also arrive on them, who for some reason could not fly on a direct route;
- 200 thousand foreigners fly to the airport every year, which is an impressive figure for such a small institution.
It is noteworthy that the number of tourists is about 10% of all foreigners who come to India. Most often, this resort is chosen by Russians, other residents of the CIS countries, as well as the British.
A bit of history
The airport began to be built in 1950. Under these needs, lands were allocated from the village of Dabolim. The airport still bears its name, not intending to change it. In the 60s, India gained independence, and by force conquered the lands that belonged to other colonies. For example, Portugal, under whose jurisdiction the airport was. In 1961, it was even bombed by the country's Air Force troops. In 1962, Dabolim became the property of the Indian authorities, in a dilapidated state.
At first Harbour Air was exclusively a military platform for the needs of military aviation. But times, of course, changed, the country came to a normal life, tourists flew into it, Special attention giving Goa. In 1996 it was already a resort, and there was no point in delaying the expansion of the airport any longer. Started this year regular flights civil aviation. Further, Dabolim was only modernized, gradually replenished with modern aircraft.
Dabolim airport
Passenger service and service
Most often, planes arrive at the airport at night or early in the morning. This is due to time zones and their change. You need to mentally prepare for this, since it is unlikely that you will be able to sleep on board, as practice shows. Consider also such nuances:
- Before boarding, you will be given special cards. They must be filled out with passport information, visa, and other similar data, which mainly relate to the place and time of residence in the country.
- It is necessary to think about housing in advance, since the column cannot be missed.
- Upon arrival, you enter the building or you are brought here by special buses, go through customs and passport control.
- Passengers who fly within the country and those who arrive from other countries are processed at different terminals.
Check-in on arrival takes about 20 minutes, and by the way, it also takes place after departure.
What you need to know about Dabolim Airport?
After you check in, you go to baggage claim. You need to understand that this site is quite small, and a queue often forms here. Finding luggage is hard. This is used by local employees who, for a nominal fee, will find and hand over your luggage without waiting in line. Here already decide for yourself whether to pay or not, one way or another, your suitcase will appear on the tape.
Another trick very common in Goa is the porter to the taxi. Such people build their phrases to create an ambiguous impression that they are offering a taxi. Having received consent, they follow to taxi drivers at the airport, who often also participate in the system and then take you to the right place at an increased rate. But having reached the car, the porter demands money for his services.
You can use the currency exchange office right at the airport. In India, rupees are very common, and in some places they will not take dollars or cards from you, so it is better to have a supply of national cash with you. There is also a place where you can switch to a local telephone connection. It is immediately available for purchase new card. To do this, provide the seller:
- 2 photos;
- a copy of the visa;
- photocopy of passport.
The disadvantages of Dabolim include the lack of Wi-Fi, paid luggage storage.
