Sigh of relief for Goans who want to travel abroad as the Dabolim Airport is now equipped with an RT-PCR testing booth after Air Arabia had cancelled its flights at Dabolim Airport because of the non-availability of RT-PCR testing facilities at the airport on 24 August 2021.
Between August 10 and September 1, only two flights landed at the Dabolim airport.Air Arabia had to cancel flights on August 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28 due to a lack of rapid antigen testing facilities at Dabolim airport. Therefore, the passengers who had booked the tickets had to cancel their tickets from Goa and were required to fly from Mumbai. However, passengers couldn’t reimburse their tickets from Goa facing financial loss. Passengers also had to pay a higher amount of money for booking last minute flights.
The RT-PCR testing facility will meet the current departure requirements of the UAE and the cost for one RT-PCR test is Rs 4,000.
Possibility of charter flights to Goa
If the Corona situation is brought under control in the next two months, international tourism will start in October and charter flights for foreign tourists will arrive in India, including Goa . The decision regarding charter flights will be taken by the central government, said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Earlier, the members of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in a joint representation had requested the Chief Minister to allow charter flights to Goa from countries like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhsthan by October.