Panaji: The first passenger flight arrived at the Manohar International Airport in Goa from Hyderabad on Thursday, marking the commencement of operations at the new facility in the coastal state. However, passengers who arrived Goa's second airport on the first day had a list of complaints.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, several passengers experienced issues related to connectivity because of shortage of taxis on arrival. Many passengers were left without taxis as operators demanded a seperate counter before commencing the services. However, the government has assured the taxi operators that there demands will be looked after soon.
Bus services were operating throughout the day from the airport to the major cities of Goa.
Airport inaugurated on Dec 11, 2022, by PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the first phase of the new airport on December 11, 2022.
The airport has been named after late Manohar Parrikar, the former defence minister who had also served as the chief minister of Goa.
With Mopa, Goa has got another international airport which is located 50 km apart from the south Goa-based Dabolim facility, operated as a civil enclave in the Indian Navy's air station INS Hansa.
Details of Mopa airport
The first phase of the Rs 2,870 crore Mopa airport project will cater to around 44 lakh passengers per annum, which can be expanded to a saturation capacity of 33 MPPA, an official earlier said.
Airport built on sustainable infrastructure theme
The airport has been built on the theme of sustainable infrastructure and has a solar power plant, green buildings, LED lights on the runway, rainwater harvesting, state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant with recycling facilities, among other such facilities.
It has adopted some of the best-in-class technologies like 3-D Monolithic Precast buildings, StabilRoad, Robomatic Hollow precast walls, and 5G compatible IT infrastructure.
