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Charter plane operators wait in hordes for navy's nod to land in Goa

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Goa's charter tourism is expected to get a further boost in case the defence ministry allows more frequent landings of charter flights.

The issue is currently under the consideration of Defence Minister George Fernandes. Goa Chief Minister Dr Wilfred de Souza had requested.that defence rules should be relaxed to facilitate more flights.

Travel agents are expectant with hope as charter planes have started landing in Goa.

The civilian traffic at Dabolim airport has been operating from a part of the naval airport right from the beginning, as per the diktats of the navy. Charters are allowed to land only on three days in a week -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- for six hours from 6.30 am.

"Our main headache is not getting the tourists but landing them on the airport," says Martins Joseph of the Freedom Group of Companies. ''Why does the navy restrict the traffic when nobody benefits from it?''

Goa's tourism director U D Kamath is confident that the chief minister's request would be acceded to. Fernandes is believed to have assured to resolve the long-pending issue.

If approved, Denmark would to be the first country to avail the facility. It had asked for landing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights only for one hour, between 9 and 10 pm. Since the airport remains idle at night, the approval may help increase the number of flights, says Joseph.

After the major setback in 1996 that saw 55 fewer chartered flights, Goa has been witnessing a steep rise since last year. The charter season, which begins in October and ends in May, reported almost 340 flights compared to 282 the previous year.

"The number is expected to increase further this year," claims Kamat. He has booked 14 slots in a week for a total of 353 flights, out of which 236 are from the UK alone. This a positive indication, feels Kamat, compared to only 174 received last year.

The UK scene is otherwise on decline, showing 12 per cent fewer flights in last four years. Following the British are the Dutch and the Danish who now seem to be attracted towards Goa.

The first flight from London, carrying 285 passengers, landed at Dabolim airport last Saturday, though the charter traffic would gain momentum only in the coming weeks.

Around 25 each are also arriving from Finland, Switzerland, Germany and Holland while 13 would come from Sweden. Almost 245 of them however would land here in the six months, from November to April, while October and May would be a slack season with only five and three charters respectively.

Although tourists from Germany, Italy, Finland and Austria are dwindling, the Dutch have almost doubled the number of their flights. More visitors have also started coming from big-spenders Switzerland and the USA.

But for how long the upward trend would continue remains to be seen as Goa is currently not in a position to improve its deteriorating infrastructure. Absence of wider roads, efficient communication, sanitation facilities and clean beaches leaves a lot to be desired in Goa.