Panaji: After a two-year-old break, the first international charter flight landed at Goa International Airport brought 159 tourists from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Officials said that slots for 40 charter flights were allocated with numbers expected to rise.
Air Astana flights land right before noon on Wednesday and all international passengers are filtered and tested before being allowed to depart from the terminal.
The joy between the tourists who arrived were also visible.
BJP and Local Minister Mla Mauvin Godinho is on site to welcome tourists to Goa.
He said that the arrival of international tourists showed that Goa was the number one goal for tourism.
Caper Travels, who coordinate charter flights from Kazakhstan, expect around 500 tourists to visit Goa weekly with Air Astana Charter flights which operate three weeks on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to April.
“This is the first charter to land this season.
Until now, around 40 slots have been given to Charters flights, but I hope these numbers grow because because self-confidence grows more slots will be asked,” said the Director of the Gagan Malik Airport.
Until now, Kazakhstan’s biggest airline scat, and Russiya Russian airline is also expected to operate charter flights to Goa.
“It was a good sign itself that after two years of international tourism began again.
All protocols are being followed and every aspect has been taken care of,” said the airport director.
He said that Spurt in domestic tourism had seen domestic flights soared through the pre-covid level a few months earlier.
“Last week we had 95 departures that had never happened even in pre-covid.
Domestic tourists came to Goa,” Malik said.
Meanwhile, downplaying speculation that the airport in Dabolim will be closed once the new international airport in Mapa becomes operational.
Godinho said that the Goa International Airport Terminal was modernized and the new Aerobridges were installed.
“All this is not for military flights,” Godinho said.
“In whatever circumstances they will let it close,” he added.