VASCO
Goa’s Dabolim Airport has slipped out of the list of India’s top 10 busiest airports in terms of domestic passenger traffic for April 2026, amid a wider decline in the state’s overall air passenger movement during the first four months of the year.
According to data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and compiled by aviation platform Network Thoughts, Dabolim Airport had handled 5,08,785 domestic passengers in March 2026, briefly securing a place among the country’s top 10 busiest airports.
However, the airport failed to retain its ranking in April after passenger traffic declined, allowing Guwahati Airport to enter the top 10 list with 5,24,002 domestic passengers.
Major metro airports including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi continued to dominate the rankings with the highest passenger movement across the country.
The latest figures come at a time when Goa’s overall air passenger traffic has recorded a significant fall between January and April 2026.
Data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation showed that total passenger traffic in Goa dropped from 11,82,316 passengers in January to 8,61,254 passengers in April, reflecting a decline of 3,21,062 passengers or around 27.2 per cent within three months.
In January 2026, Goa had recorded 86,491 international passengers and around 10.95 lakh domestic passengers. By April, international passenger traffic had sharply fallen to 16,216 passengers, while domestic passenger numbers declined to 8.45 lakh.
International traffic witnessed the steepest drop, with passenger numbers falling by over 81 per cent between January and April, largely attributed to the end of the peak winter tourism and international charter season.
Aircraft movements in Goa also reduced during the same period. Total aircraft movements declined from 7,425 in January to 5,700 in April, while international aircraft movements dropped from 489 to 110.
Despite the decline, Goa continued to remain among the top 10 aviation markets in the country in April 2026 when cumulative passenger traffic from both Dabolim Airport and Manohar International Airport at Mopa was taken into account.
The development has triggered discussions in Goa’s aviation and tourism sectors, especially amid changing travel patterns and growing competition between Dabolim and Mopa airports.
