Goa’s new greenfield airport at Mopa gets DGCA nod, aerodrome license

PANAJI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted Goa’s Mopa airport an aerodrome license to enable it to commence flight operations.

The license was issued on Wednesday for the state’s second airport ahead of its inauguration, the Hindustan Times reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the greenfield airport next month.

According to the HT report, an IndiGo A-320 aircraft from Mumbai has flown to the Mopa airport as part of the mandatory navigation system testing.

Officials said Mopa airport will help double the number of commercial flights to Goa and boost tourism. GMR Goa International Airport Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited, is developing the greenfield airport at Mopa under a public-private partnership model on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

The airport is being constructed in four phases. After the inauguration of the first phase, Mopa airport will be able to handle 4.4 million passengers annually. This is expected to increase to 13.1 million by the completion of the fifth phase.