Manohar International Airport: The newly inaugurated Manohar International Airport has become operational today. The operations at the airport commenced as it witnessed the first passenger flight arriving on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11, 2022, inaugurated the first phase of the new facility in the coastal area. Recently, the Goa government introduced the blu cab service at the airport.
First flight arrived at the airport
The IndiGo flight from Hyderabad landed at 9 am at the new airport located at Mopa in the North Goa district, airport officials said. Union Minister Shripad Naik and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte were present to welcome the passengers at the terminal building of the airport. Naik and Khaunte also presented symbolic dummy boarding pass to passengers scheduled to travel to Hyderabad in another IndiGo flight, the first one to take off from the new airport in Goa on Thursday.
Soon after the first flight landed at Mopa's Manohar International Airport, the passengers received a warm welcome. Goa CM Pramod Sawant on Manohar International Aiport becoming operational from today said, 'Manohar International Airport was inaugurated by PM Modi, and today a commercial flight has landed here. This will boost the economy and tourism here.'
Airport named after this eminent personality
The airport has been named after the late Manohar Parrikar, the former defence minister who had also served as the chief minister of Goa. With Mopa, Goa has got another international airport which is located 50 km apart from the south Goa-based Dabolim facility, operated as a civil enclave in the Indian Navy's air station INS Hansa.
Sustainable infrastructure of the airport
The first phase of the Rs 2,870 crore Mopa airport project will cater to around 44 lakh passengers per annum, which can be expanded to a saturation capacity of 33 MPPA, an official earlier said. The airport has been built on the theme of sustainable infrastructure and has a solar power plant, green buildings, LED lights on the runway, rainwater harvesting, state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant with recycling facilities, among other such facilities.
It has adopted some of the best-in-class technologies like 3-D Monolithic Precast buildings, StabilRoad, Robomatic Hollow precast walls, and 5G compatible IT infrastructure.
Blue Cab service at Manohar International Airport
The Goa government has announced the introduction of the Blue Cab service at the Manohar International Airport in the state from Thursday. In addition to Blue Cabs, the airport will also have taxis affiliated with Goa Miles App and also those registered under the state-run Goa Taxi App, he said.
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