No plan to close Dabolim airport for civilian flights, says Goa CM

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday categorically stated that the Goa International Airport at Dabolim will not be shut down. The opposition Goa Forward Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party had on Thursday expressed apprehension that civilian operations at the airport in South Goa would be stopped and it would be exclusively used by the Indian Navy. The airport is inside the Indian Navy's INS Hansa air base, but it is being used for both civilian air traffic as well as naval operations since inception. ''Every time there is an election, the opposition scouts for some or other issue,'' the chief minister said on Friday, talking to reporters at Porvorim. On South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes's claim that he had seen a document about the plan to close the airport, Sawant said he was indulging in a ''political stunt''. ''The MP comes out of the Parliament House and makes such a statement. He is making mockery of Parliament,'' the chief minister said. The Union government recently spent Rs 450 crore on constructing a fly-over at Dabolim Airport, Sawant said, adding, ''This was in addition to the Rs 400 crore spent on infrastructure upgradation at the airport over the last 4-5 years.'' This investment was made so that the airport can be used for civilian flights, the CM said. There was a decision by the union cabinet not to shut down the Dabolim Airport for civilians, he added. Besides the Dabolim airport, the coastal state has another facility -- Manohar International Airport -- in North Goa district.