VASCO
Admitting there has been a 90% reduction in passenger movement due to a decrease in flights, Dabolim Airport Director Gagan Malik is, however, hopeful that air traffic returns to normal by June end.
Speaking to The Goan, Malik said the Goa Airport is fully functional and there are no restrictions on flight operations, except that flights presently operate between 6.40 am and 6.40 pm.
“The second wave of Covid has drastically affected business at the airport because of lockdowns. Passengers are not flying and there are other restrictions like Covid-negative certificates and other things," said Malik.
"Passenger footfalls have decreased considerably and earlier, while we used to have around 14,000 passengers per day, we now have only 500-700 passengers arriving and an equal number departing. There is a 90% reduction in passenger footfalls.”
The airport director said flights have also been affected and there have been cancellations.
“Earlier, there used to be around 80 departures but now it totally depends on a load of passengers for a particular sector operated by flights. We now have around 6-8 flights per day," said Malik.
“Improvement of business at the airport depends on the Covid situation and presently, there is an indication of a reduction in Covid cases. Hopefully, by June end, things can get normal.”
“Goa is a place that will stand fast on its legs and we will touch around 50-60% of our business by June end," added Malik.
