The first passenger flight arrived at Goa’s Manohar International Airport from Hyderabad on Thursday morning, marking the start of operations at the new facility in the coastal state.
The IndiGo flight carrying 179 passengers was given a water cannon salute when it landed at the new airport at Mopa in North Goa district, 35 km from capital Panaji, at 9 am.
Some passengers expressed their happiness over the grand welcome and said that their experience was amazing.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said it was a “dream come true” for Goa and a “major achievement” for the state and the Centre.
He said that the passengers were happy and appreciated the services being provided at the new airport.
Union Minister Shripad Naik, North Goa MP, Rajya Sabha member Vinay Tendulkar, CM Sawant, State Tourism Minister Rohan Khunte, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, BJP state chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade and airline officials received the passengers at the terminal building. air port.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh virtually attended the event.
Live band performance also took place outside the airport to welcome the passengers.
Sources said that another passenger flight of Indigo also left for Hyderabad, which is the first flight to depart from the new airport.
The dignitaries handed over boarding passes to the passengers of that flight.
A couple who arrived on the first flight from Hyderabad said, ‘The experience was great. We are very happy to be a part of the celebration here.” Another couple from the same flight expressed their happiness over the grand welcome and water cannon salute given to the aircraft after landing at the airport.
“It was wonderful. Coincidentally, it is also my husband’s birthday,” said the female passenger.
Dr Shekhar Salkar, an oncologist from Goa, was among the passengers to leave for Delhi on the first day of operations from the airport. “It is a dream come true for Goa. Passengers were happy and appreciated the services offered at the new airport,” he said. He said the airport would strengthen Goa’s capabilities for tourism, trade and business.
“It is a big achievement for the state and the central government. There are two airports in Goa from today.
Khaunte said that the new airport would give impetus to tourism development in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi The first phase of the new airport was inaugurated on December 11, 2022.
The airport is named after former Defense Minister late Manohar Parrikar, who also served as the Chief Minister of Goa.
With the new facility at Mopa, Goa now gets another international airport, located 50 km away from the South Goa-based Dabolim facility, which operates as a civil enclave at the Indian Naval Air Station INS Hansa.
An official had earlier said that the first phase of the Rs 2,870-crore Mopa airport project would cater to about 4.4 million passengers per annum (MPPA), which could be scaled up to a saturation capacity of 33 MPPA.
The airport is built on the theme of sustainable infrastructure and has solar power plants, green buildings, LED lights on runways, rainwater harvesting, state-of-the-art sewage treatment plants with recycling facilities, among other such features.
It has adopted some of the best-in-class technologies like 3-D monolithic precast building, stableroad, robotic hollow precast wall and 5G compatible IT infrastructure.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)