The airport is being developed in four phases. In Phase 1, the airport will have a capacity of 4.4 million passengers per annum (MPPA). Phase 2 will have a capacity of 5.8 MPPA. Stage 3 will have a capacity of 9.4 MPPA and Stage 4 will have a capacity of 13.1 MPPA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated Goa’s second airport, MOPA International Airport. The airport is named after former Chief Minister Manohar Parikar. Operations will start from January 5, 2023. GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) will manage the airport.
Manohar International Airport is built on 2,132 acres and is located at Pernem Taluka in North Goa. The international airport will serve all segments of inbound and outbound tourism.
The main runway is 3.5 km long and 60 meters wide and conforms to code 4E. It is capable of handling aircraft like the Airbus A380. The parallel traffic lane has two rapid exit lanes and six cross traffic lanes. There are 14 parking areas, including five aerobridges.
MOPA International Airport also has adequate overnight parking facilities for aircraft.
The storage capacity for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is 7,500 kilolitres. It also has an expansive 25,000 metric ton temperature-controlled cargo terminal. There are 18 check-in counters and four self-service baggage drop-off points. Twelve immigration counters and eight emigration counters are located in the integrated terminal.
The airport is being developed in four phases. In Phase 1, the airport will have a capacity of 4.4 million passengers per annum (MPPA). Phase 2 will have a capacity of 5.8 MPPA. Stage 3 will have a capacity of 9.4 MPPA and Stage 4 will have a capacity of 13.1 MPPA.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said: “Goa is getting its first Greenfield airport at MOPA which was built with a budget of Rs 2,870 crore. Goa is connected to seven countries and is the gateway of India In eight years, 71 airports have been added in the country.
He also said, “We aspire to have over 200 airports, water aerodromes and heliports and a fleet of 1,200 aircraft in India.”
Prime Minister Modi said: “The previous government’s approach was more vote-banking than infrastructure development. The demand for a new airport in Goa was a long-standing demand of the people of Goa. The new airport was planned under the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I laid the foundation stone six years ago.”
Indigo announced its biggest new station with 12 new daily flights and 168 new weekly flights. Airline operations will start from January 5, 2023 at the airport. Indigo will connect eight cities to Mopa International Airport. It will include major routes like Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chennai, Pune, Ahemdabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
On the other hand, Go First has also announced 42 weekly non-stop flights to Mopa International Airport from January 5, 2023. Direct flights will connect Mopa to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
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