Civilian flights at Dabolim airport to be grounded permanently: Oppn; Goa minister bins claims

Aam Aadmi Party AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Centre plans to convert South Goas Dabolim airport exclusively for defence use, joining other Opposition parties who have made similar claims, an assertion junked by a state minister.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Centre plans to convert South Goa's Dabolim airport exclusively for defence use, joining other Opposition parties who have made similar claims, an assertion junked by a state minister. The international airport at Dabolim is part of Indian Navy's INS Hansa base in the coastal state. Kejriwal asserted any move to stop civilian flights from the airport will not be acceptable to the people of Goa and will face resistance. ''BJP govt at centre is planning to convert Dabolim (Airport) exclusively for defence purposes. Dabolim acts as lifeline for S (South) Goa,'' Kejriwal wrote on his X handle. ''This is not acceptable to the people of Goa. We will fight to ensure Dabolim continues for civil purposes,'' the former Delhi chief minister insisted. Separately, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, in a video released in New Delhi, claimed the Modi government was planning to shut operations at the Dabolim airport. ''The Modi govt wants to sell every part of the country and hand over every sector to its friends. Even if people lose their livelihood,'' he alleged. ''Now, the BJP government is preparing to sell the Dabolim airport in Goa. This will destroy the livelihoods of taxi drivers, hoteliers and people connected to the airport,'' Singh maintained. Other Opposition parties have also claimed the Union government was planning to close the Dabolim airport, but Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho insisted there was no such plan. Godinho told PTI that he met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after learning that the GMR group, which operates the Manohar International Airport (MIA) in North Goa, was ''lobbying'' for turning the Dabolim airport into an exclusive naval facility. Singh assured both the airports will remain operational for commercial air traffic, he said. The talk about the Dabolim airport's possible closure started after Godinho and Rajya Sabha member from Goa Sadanand Tanavade met Singh in Delhi earlier this week. The tourist state, which receives thousands of foreign travellers every year, has two airports: Dabolim (South Goa) and the newly-constructed MIA at Mopa (North Goa), which started operations in early 2023. Goa Forward Party (GFP) chief Vijai Sardesai claimed that the defence minister called Godinho to Delhi to inform him that the Dabolim facility would be handed over entirely to the Navy. The former minister demanded that Godinho resign from the cabinet and as an MLA for 'failing' to save the airport, and warned of an agitation over the issue after the carnival celebrations are over. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should make a categorical statement on the issue within a week, Sardesai insisted. Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar said party MP Viriato Fernandes had written to the defence minister and urged him not to close the Dabolim airport. The closure will be a disaster for the South Goa district and its tourism industry, he cautioned. The Congress-led UPA government had taken a cabinet decision that both the airports will remain functional for commercial services, Patkar said, adding, ''I don't know why the Modi government is hell-bent on closing it.''

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