Dabolim Airport: how to combine a military airfield with a civilian one? What airport do planes fly into in goa What is the name of the airport in goa.

There is only one airport in Goa called Dabolim. Its abbreviated name is GOI (Goa International Airport). And even then, this is not exactly a tourist airport: most of it belongs to the Indian Ministry of Defense. Today, the terminal has two terminals: Terminal 1 serves domestic flights, and Terminal 2 - international.

The "air gate" of Goa was built in the 1950s by the Portuguese (at that time the state was a Portuguese colony and was not part of India). But the struggle for the independence of India did its job - and in 1962, all of Goa (including the airport) was captured by the Indian military. Since that time, and until now, Dabolim has remained the property of the military forces of the Indian Republic, a military air unit called "Khansa" has been located on its territory.

Travel time Moscow — Dabolim- Approximately 7.5 hours.

Due to the fact that the airfield belongs to the Indian Air Force, military flight exercises are held on the territory every day from 8 am to 13:00, and takeoffs and landings of civilian aircraft are prohibited, so all planes arrive in Goa either late in the evening, or at night, or early in the morning (before start of military fighter exercises).

We once got into a situation where ours was late with arrival, which is why the flight was delayed by 4 hours. At this time, the runways of the air hub were already occupied by military fighters, and about 300 people sat in the waiting room and watched in silence. We were supposed to fly out at 7 am, but it turned out to fly out only around 12 noon. We were lucky, and by some miracle our plane was allowed to take off between takeoffs of Indian fighters (apparently, there was a lunch break). And we already expected to wait until the end of the working day.

Also, due to the military orientation of the airport, there is always a military man with a machine gun at the entrance to it and checks the tickets of everyone who wants to enter. Therefore, everyone must have a printout of their electronic ticket, where you can see the number and date of the flight. Entrance to the terminal with a ticket is allowed no earlier than 4 hours before the departure of your aircraft.

Dabolim Airport on the map:

Arrival to Dabolim

Upon arrival in India, all tourists are required to fill out an Arrival card, it is sometimes distributed on planes, but most often you have to take it at the Goa airport and fill it out at the counters, so we advise you to have your own pen with you (there are few pens on the counters, and wait for your turn to fill out card takes a long time). The Arrival card contains standard information: arrival flight, departure date, which hotel you will stay in, which cities you plan to visit.

This is how the Arrival Card looks like, which all foreign tourists need to fill out

After filling out the Arrival Card, you need to go with it to the border control (if you have an Indian visa pasted in your passport) or to the Visa on Arrival counter (if you applied for an electronic visa, which is pasted into your passport upon arrival).

After passing the border control, we go to the baggage claim belt. Dabolim is small, so there are only two ribbons here. Local “helpers” are on duty around the clock at these tapes, who are in a hurry to snatch your suitcase out of your hands in order to take it to a taxi, or to the operator’s desk if you didn’t fly on your own. They are dressed in some kind of uniform that makes them look like airport employees, in fact, this uniform is “left”.

They know our main operators flying to Goa, so when a confused tourist hears: “Pegasus, let's go there,” he is sure that this is an employee of the tour operator, whose duties include escorting tourists to the counter. In fact, this is an ordinary Indian who earns money in this way. After you and him find the counter of your tour operator (or taxi), he will begin to demand payment from you for his services. They ask a lot (according to eyewitnesses, from 5 dollars to 500 rupees), although they have to carry a suitcase no more than 50 meters.

There is a currency exchange at the airport, but the exchange rate is extremely unfavorable. Therefore, if you really need it urgently (for example, to pay for a taxi), exchange a small amount (no more than $ 50). But it's best to order a car at a prepaid taxi booth (state prepaid taxi) and say that you will pay the driver later. In the window you will be given a piece of paper with a fixed price, and already being in your village, you will exchange dollars at a favorable rate and pay the driver. Taxi rates to different villages in Goa hang at the exit of the airport terminal, so if a taxi driver starts to overcharge, you should not encourage it. Taxi prices from the airport and the distance to popular tourist villages, we will give in this article, just below.

Government Prepaid Taxi Desk at Dabolim Airport

In addition to currency exchange, you can use the ATMs that are at the exit of the terminal: just withdraw money from your card. The ATM gives out rupees, the conversion takes place inside the bank. The issuance fee for Indian ATMs is standard: 200 rupees. The commission for withdrawing money in your bank may be different: we, for example, have money from which you can withdraw without a commission anywhere in the world (provided that the withdrawal amount is at least 3,000 rubles). Usually, we withdraw 10,000 rupees, and pay 200 rupees for issuance - it turns out 2% of the amount. The smaller the amount you withdraw, the more profitable it is.

It is worth considering that Indian ATMs do not work like Russian ones. They don’t “swallow” the card - it must be inserted all the way and immediately pulled out: the ATM has already read all the necessary information. After the card has been read and removed, you already enter the pin code, select the desired account and enter the required withdrawal amount.

Also at the exit to the city there is a sale of Indian SIM cards. It is extremely unprofitable to buy them here: they cost several times more than in the villages of Goa, and in case of a card malfunction, there will be no one to file a claim (you won’t go to the airport by taxi for 1000 rupees to exchange a SIM card for 500).

There are no luggage storage facilities in Dabolim, so leaving your luggage there while looking for accommodation will not work.

Dabolim airport online scoreboard(Select the "Departure" or "Arrival" tab) :

Distance from Goa airport to tourist villages and taxi prices

Table with prices from 2017

It is worth considering that at night (from 23:00 to 05:00) another 35% is added to these rates. Also, prepaid taxis charge another 10 rupees per passenger for luggage.

Departure from Dabolim

We have already talked about the fact that you can enter the terminal only by presenting your printed e-ticket to the military at the entrance. What happens after you enter inside?

When departing from Goa, your luggage is carefully checked, and then a yellow sticker is glued to the lock of the suitcase, which cannot be removed without damaging it. So they are trying to secure the flight (so that prohibited items are not put in the suitcase after the check). By the way, it is forbidden to carry any batteries in luggage, we once did not let a children's suitcase go because it contained a control panel for a car with batteries inside.

Lighters are also prohibited in both carry-on and checked baggage. Therefore, even souvenir lighters from India are also confiscated from suitcases.

This is the queue for check-in for the Goa-Samara flight turned out at 4 in the morning

Passenger check-in at international departure counters at Dabolim Airport

At Dabolim Airport, a plastic film rewind service is available - it costs only 200 rupees. Compared to a similar service at Sheremetyevo, which costs 500 rubles- Indians ask 2 times less.

We noticed another feature of the Goan airport: special tags are attached to all hand luggage. But this is not the most interesting thing - such tags are issued for hand luggage everywhere. But only at Dabolim Airport it will not be possible to bring hand luggage without tags on board: special seals are put on these tags after checking the hand luggage on the scanner, and without these seals you will not be let through customs control. At other airports, we often do not even attach Cabin baggage tags at all - and we have never had a problem.

In general, the air harbor of Goa is small, there are a lot of people, there are queues everywhere. Checking in luggage and going through passport control takes an excruciatingly long time, it is better to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours in advance (of course, if you are not traveling with an organized transfer from a tour operator).

Until about 2017, no one asked this question: fruits in special baskets in hand luggage were passed without problems, moreover, even if the basket was not the only element of hand luggage, but was an addition to it. In fairness, it is worth saying that according to the rules, the transport of fruit in hand luggage has always been prohibited, but no one paid such serious attention to it.

These baskets were used to take fruit from Goa in hand luggage

At the end of 2017, for some reason, they began to comply with this rule with special care: everyone was forced to check in all fruit baskets. But they did not take money for them, as for additional luggage.

Nevertheless, we witnessed how our enterprising Russian tourists nevertheless carried fruit baskets in their hand luggage: they simply did not show them when checking in their luggage, and were successfully able to carry them on board. The same tourists who asked the workers: is it possible to carry THIS and pointed to the baskets, were forced to put them in luggage.

It is worth saying that during our December 2017 year, all the baskets arrived safe and sound, they were not unloaded onto a belt, but all the baskets were carefully brought on a separate trolley and placed near the luggage belt.

Most of all, those tourists who were forced to hand over fruit baskets in their luggage were worried that at the Russian border (according to rumors) half of the fruit was confiscated by workers, and only a small part of what they were carrying reached the owners. In view of this, they diligently wrapped the baskets with tape. Did the scotch help, or did the customs officers come across to us honest, but all the fruits handed over in luggage reached their owners in the same quantity that they were handed over.

Duty free and food courts at the airport

The duty free zone in Dabolim is very, very modest (like in a Russian province). In fact, there is only one small shop with some alcohol and souvenirs, several fast food nooks with very expensive prices, and that's it.

On the right is the same nook with fast food. There are no tables where you can eat and drink what you have bought. Passengers eat in their seats.

Departure hall: in the distance you can see the only mini-duty-free shop, about nothing

When our flight was delayed by 4 hours, we had to buy expensive and tasteless (and spicy) burgers from one of the two food outlets in the departure area. There is no normal food here. Therefore, I can’t even imagine how to feed the children here during the long delay of the plane. I strongly advise, just in case, to stock up in advance with some more healthy food for children.

Goan airport from the runway.

Goa is a very popular place among tourists from the CIS countries. You can understand this, since this resort has a huge number of advantages. This is one of the smallest Indian states. By itself, it is a continuous coastline washed by the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Arriving here, tourists find themselves in a real paradise, as if descended from postcards: palm trees, white sand, clear sea, exotic temples and resorts. At the same time, rest in India is very cheap, it is considered, perhaps, the most affordable in the world. The only thing that can overshadow Russian tourists is the presence of a visa.

Since Goa is not a separate island or state, but still a state of India, you need to draw up documents here. However, any traveler will tell you that this country willingly and without any bureaucratic delays gives visas for holidays, without requiring a huge package of papers. Therefore, getting the desired permission to visit the resort is not difficult. In order to get to this state, you need to make a flight from Russia. Naturally, when you travel for the first time, questions arise, which airport of arrival in GOA will you visit and what do you need to know about it in general?

If you have a question, which airport do planes fly to in GOA, then just remember the name - Dabolim. It makes no sense to fly to India to another state and from there already get to the resort. After all, we are talking about a modern air harbor. It is located four kilometers from the small town of Vasco da Gama. It is about 30 kilometers to get to a large administrative center.

The statistics that relate to this airport are as follows:

• Dabolim receives 700 foreign aircraft per year;
• most of the flights are charter;
• a third of them are Russian companies and aircraft;
• at the same time, quite a few flights also follow from other states, and tourists also arrive on them, who for some reason could not fly on a direct route;
• 200 thousand foreigners fly to the airport every year, which is an impressive figure for such a small institution.

It is noteworthy that the number of tourists is about 10% of all foreigners who come to India. Most often, this resort is chosen by Russians, other residents of the CIS countries, as well as the British.

A bit of history

The airport began to be built in 1950. Under these needs, lands were allocated from the village of Dabolim. The airport still bears its name, not intending to change it. In the 60s, India gained independence, and by force conquered the lands that belonged to other colonies. For example, Portugal, under whose jurisdiction the airport was. In 1961, it was even bombed by the country's Air Force troops. In 1962, Dabolim became the property of the Indian authorities, in a dilapidated state.

At first, the air harbor was exclusively a military platform for the needs of military aviation. But times, of course, changed, the country came to a normal life, tourists flew into it, paying special attention to Goa. In 1996 it was already a resort, and there was no point in delaying the expansion of the airport any longer. Regular civil aviation flights began this year. Further, Dabolim was only modernized, gradually replenished with modern aircraft.

Dabolim airport

Passenger service and service

Most often, planes arrive at the airport at night or early in the morning. This is due to time zones and their change. You need to mentally prepare for this, since it is unlikely that you will be able to sleep on board, as practice shows. Consider also such nuances:

1. Before boarding, you will be given special cards. They must be filled out with passport information, visa, and other similar data, which mainly relate to the place and time of residence in the country.
2. It is necessary to think about housing in advance, since the column cannot be missed.
3. Upon arrival, you enter the building or you are brought here by special buses, go through customs and passport control.
4. Passengers who fly within the country and those who arrive from other countries are processed at different terminals.

Check-in on arrival takes about 20 minutes, and by the way, it also takes place after departure.

What you need to know about Dabolim Airport?

After you check in, you go to baggage claim. You need to understand that this site is quite small, and a queue often forms here. Finding luggage is hard. This is used by local employees who, for a nominal fee, will find and hand over your luggage without waiting in line. Here already decide for yourself whether to pay or not, one way or another, your suitcase will appear on the tape.

Another trick very common in Goa is the porter to the taxi. Such people build their phrases to create an ambiguous impression that they are offering a taxi. Having received consent, they follow to taxi drivers at the airport, who often also participate in the system and then take you to the right place at an increased rate. But having reached the car, the porter demands money for his services.

You can use the currency exchange office right at the airport. In India, rupees are very common, and in some places they will not take dollars or cards from you, so it is better to have a supply of national cash with you. There is also a place where you can switch to a local telephone connection. In it, you can immediately purchase a new card. To do this, provide the seller:

• 2 photos;
• a copy of the visa;
• photocopy of passport.

The disadvantages of Dabolim include the lack of Wi-Fi, paid luggage storage.

Dabolim International Airport - this is the answer to the question of tourists who are interested in which airport planes arrive in Goa. Today it is the only air harbor, a kind of tourist gate that lets tourists into this amazing place.

The airport was built in the 50s of the XX century by the Portuguese authorities. At that time, this region was not yet part of India, it was a colony of Portugal. Gradually, the struggle for independence reached these places. In 1962, the airport was taken over by the Indian Navy. To date, it is still the property of the military forces of the Republic, located on the territory of the military air unit "Khansa".

In recent years, local authorities have chosen the tourism industry as the basis for the development of the region. Naturally, tourists must somehow get to the beaches of the Arabian Sea, on the shores of which the state is located. The only airport in Goa belongs to the military, but the authorities have found a way to cooperate with them. The military now uses the air harbor along with civil aviation.

Unique collaboration

Any movement on the territory of the airport is controlled by the military. They are at the entrance, checking documents and tickets. It is impossible for those seeing off and meeting people to enter the premises. Passengers are admitted to the terminals according to the lists, which include all passengers of departing civil flights on the current date.

All civil and charter flights cannot use the airport on weekdays from eight to thirteen hours. This time is reserved for military exercises. Due to such restrictions, passengers often experience inconvenience in the form of huge queues and large crowds. The airport management cannot avoid this in any way, because due to temporary restrictions, it is necessary to simultaneously serve passengers of several flights, the departure and arrival of which are carried out with minimal intervals.

This situation does not suit both tourists and local authorities. To improve service a little, a new international terminal was opened in 2014, and by 2017 it is planned to complete the construction of a civil air hub in Mope.

Airport code

Goa's airport at Dabolim is the state's only air hub, so it's no surprise that its international aviation coding is IATA: GOI - ICAO: VOGO.

The full (official) name is Dabolim Airport. One runway numbered 08/26 has an asphalt surface with a length of 3458 meters. It is located above the Arabian Sea, which makes the arrival of tourists to Goa especially impressive.

Online scoreboard

You can find out the schedule of all flights that will be served simultaneously with yours through the scoreboard available on our website. This information will help you determine how long it will take to check in, and you can also mentally prepare yourself for long lines in advance.

Luggage packing

Baggage at Goa airport goes through the following procedure:

• at the entrance there is a scanner through which all luggage is passed;
• scanned things are pulled with a plastic security tape, after which it can no longer be opened;
• if you have an overweight, then there is a self-service scale next to the scanner: you can pick up things from the scanner before pulling the security tape, adjust the weight and submit it for verification again;
• before scanning, make sure that you do not have lighters and liquids among your things;
• It is forbidden to carry lighters on the plane both in luggage and in hand luggage; liquids in acceptable volumes are packed in a transparent plastic bag;
• hand luggage is almost never weighed, overweight baggage up to two kilograms does not cause any particular difficulties;
• film rewinding is desirable to reduce the likelihood of opening and theft of things;
• rewinding services available - 200 rupees;
• if you wish, you can buy a film in advance and wrap your luggage yourself;
• after check-in for the flight, you are given tickets, and your suitcases are taken away;
• then there is a personal inspection and check of hand luggage through the scanner;
• after passing through the metal detector, special tags for hand luggage are issued, which must be pasted on all packages taken into the cabin, and then stamped on them;
• when boarding, things without tags with seals cannot be carried on the plane, so be sure to stick them on.

Luggage storage

Many passengers flying to Goa in winter face the difficulty of where to put their warm clothes. Some hope to leave them for the holidays at the airport in Goa. To avoid disappointment, know in advance that there are no left-luggage offices here. The military even let people into the terminal premises according to the lists, and even more so, no one will allow people to leave things here. Such features of military cooperation.

If your vacation involves stationary accommodation, then you can purchase vacuum bags in advance, take them with you as hand luggage, put warm clothes in them after boarding the plane, and then, most importantly, do not forget to pick them up from the hotel upon departure, when you completely forget that somewhere now it could be winter.

If you plan to travel around Goa, it is better to leave warm clothes at home. You can do this in two ways:

Give things to those who see you off, provided that they bring them to you when you return from vacation.

Check in luggage storage at the airport of departure or use a wardrobe specially designed for winter clothes of those passengers traveling to warm countries.

Whichever option you choose, keep in mind that a bus will take you from the airport to the plane. If there is a big minus on the street, then in flip flops and shorts you will be completely uncomfortable. You will still need to take something warm with you on the plane.

Ways to get to the hotel

The airport is located away from residential areas. Therefore, you need to know in advance how to get from it to the city you need. There are three options for resolving this issue.

Transfer

If you book a hotel or other accommodation in advance for a period of more than a week through travel intermediaries, then most likely you will be offered a transfer to the hotel for free. In any case, you can order this service separately. It will cost, depending on the distance and the chosen car, from 40 to 150 dollars.

When ordering a transfer from the airport, you will need to contact your chosen intermediary before departure, tell him how many passengers and things will be, what level of comfort you prefer, the city where your hotel is located and its exact address.

If you are traveling on a budget, then you will like the third option. The whole trip will cost a maximum of one hundred rupees, but be prepared to spend almost four hours on it and make four transfers in different cities. And after seven o'clock in the evening the buses do not run.

If you have a lot of things, do not even consider this option, as the journey begins with catching a full bus passing by the airport, which you will not sit on with large luggage. On such a bus, you need to get to Vasco, here change to the one that goes to the capital, if you need to go to northern Goa. From Panaji you get to Mapusa, and buses to all resorts already run from it. South Goa can be reached via Margao, which is served by buses from Vasco.

I have long dreamed of flying to Goa... Arriving at Dabolim airport, I was even a little surprised: control and baggage claim took a minimum amount of time. Especially when compared with the registration that was waiting for me on the way back.

Believe it or not, but I, like all other tourists, had to go through 5 circles of hell. In fact, registration with all the checks, introscopes, queues dragged on for 3 hours! Nerves, emotions... There were no traces of rest at the time of getting on the plane.

Since the airport is a military one, security checks are strict here. I passed a similar check only at the Sharma airport. Just imagine, in order to enter the air harbor, you must present a ticket. Here is the first line. Otherwise, there is no way to enter the territory. The next, like a familiar procedure: transillumination of luggage. Well, there is only one device at the entrance. I had to stand a kilometer-long queue in order to get a special sticker for things. Without it, I assure you, luggage will not be accepted! As for registration, then with this more or less. Visa control, and generally passed not noticeably. At this stage, I exhaled, but in vain. It turns out that dessert was waiting for me - inspection of hand luggage and me. Friends, I stood in line for more than an hour. This is something! I didn't like the airport

• work organization;
• the need to arrive at the airport in advance;
• not split queues;
• lack of pointers.

And finally, if you suddenly decide to have a bite to eat at the airport, be prepared to pay a 10% service charge.

What to do if the flight is canceled

If the flight was canceled more than 24 hours before departure, then passengers are transferred to similar flights of the airline. The costs are borne by the carrier, the service is free for the passenger. If none of the options offered by the airline suits you, most airlines can issue a “forced refund”. After confirmation by the airline, the money will be returned to your account. Sometimes this may take several weeks.

How to check in at the airport

Online check-in is available on the websites of most airlines. Most often, it opens 23 hours before the start of the flight. You can go through it no later than 1 hour before the departure of the aircraft.

To check in at the airport you will need:

• the identity card specified in the order,
• birth certificate when traveling with children,
• printed itinerary receipt (optional).

• What can you take on a plane

  Hand luggage is the items that you take with you on the plane. The weight limit for hand luggage can vary from 5 to 10 kg, and its size most often should not exceed the sum of three dimensions (length, width and height) from 115 to 203 cm (depending on the airline). A handbag is not considered hand luggage and is carried freely.

  The bag that you take with you on the plane should not contain knives, scissors, medicines, aerosols, cosmetics. Alcohol from duty free shops can only be carried in sealed bags.

  How to pay for luggage at the airport

  If the baggage weight exceeds the norms established by the airline (most often - 20-23 kg), you need to pay for each kilogram of excess. In addition, many Russian and foreign airlines, as well as low-cost airlines, have tariffs that do not include free baggage allowance and must be paid separately as an additional service.

  Baggage must be checked in at the airport at a separate drop-off check-in counter. If you are unable to print your boarding pass, you can get it at the regular check-in counter of the airline, and check in and check in your luggage there.

  Where to find out the arrival time if you are a greeter

  You can find out the time of arrival of the aircraft on the online scoreboard of the airport. The Tutu.ru website has an online scoreboard of the main Russian and foreign airports.

  You can find out the exit (gate) number on the arrivals board at the airport. This number is located next to the arrival flight information.