Goa welcomes its first chartered flight of the season

After struggling amidst the pandemic, the tourism activity in the state will get a boost with the first charter flight with international tourists is all set arrive at Goa airport on early Wednesday morning.

According to Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik, the first charter flight will be Air Astana arriving from Almaty, Kazakhstan. "Air Astana flight will arrive from Almaty and bring in 159 passengers . The flight will arrive at around 7 am on Wednesday morning . We have even arranged for a small ceremony to welcome the tourists of the first charter flight in the arrival hall of the Goa Airport," said Malik.

Before boarding the aeroplane and upon arrival, all passengers were tested for COVID-19. Unless they test positive upon arrival, there will be no quarantine.

The first chartered flight of the season, after a year-long hiatus due to COVID-19-induced lockdown, was initially supposed to be from the United Kingdom on December 13, according to a senior official had told PTI. According to Nilesh Shah, head of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), four more chartered aircraft are scheduled to come to Goa from UK in December, two each from Gatwick and Manchester Airports.

Charter flights account for the bulk of the international tourists' arrivals to Goa. Nearly 900 charter flights mostly from Russia, UK and Germany annually found their way to Goa before the Covid pandemic struck, which lead to the closure of all international travel.

According to Shah, the tourism industry can bounce back even if 50 per cent of the chartered flights arrive in Goa this tourist season.

Inspite of the new Omicron variant, Goa's tourism industry is hoping that with the arrival of international tourists, the coastal state's economy will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.