<h2 class="blog-hed2 pb-lg-4 pb-3 text-lg-center">History of Goa International Dabolim Airport</h2>
<p class="blog-para">The airport was built in 1955 by the Government of the Estado da ndia Portuguesa on 249 acres (101 ha) of land as the Aeroporto de Dabolim, which was later officially renamed to the Aeroporto General Benard Guedes.</p>
<p class="blog-para">Until 1961, the airport served as the main hub of Portuguese India's airline, TAIP (Transportes A&eacute;reos da India Portuguesa), which on a regular schedule served Daman, Diu, Karachi, Mozambique, Portuguese Timor, and other destinations.</p>
<p class="blog-para">During the annexation of Goa in December 1961, the airport was bombarded by the Indian Air Force, with parts of the infrastructure being destroyed. Two civilian planes that were in the airport&mdash;a Lockheed Constellation from TAP (Transportes A&eacute;reos Portugueses) and a Douglas DC-4 from TAIP&mdash;managed to escape with refugees during the night to Karachi.</p>
<p class="blog-para">In April 1962, it was occupied by the Indian Navy's air wing when Major General K. P. Candeth, who had led the successful military operation into Goa, "handed over" the airport to the Indian Navy before relinquishing charge as its military governor to a Lieutenant Governor of the then Union Territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu in June 1962.</p>
<p class="blog-para">Goa Airport is located in the city of Dabolim, 4 km from Vasco de Gama and 30 km from the state capital, Panaji. Goa Airport is a focus city for AIX Connect.</p>
<h2 class="blog-hed2 pb-lg-4 pb-3">Facilities at Goa International Dabolim Airport</h2>
<p class="blog-para">The airport is spread over 688 hectares (1,700 acres) (and possibly 745 hectares or 1,840 acres [clarification needed]) and consists of a civil enclave of nearly 14 hectares (35 acres), an increase from its original size of 6 hectares (15 acres).</p>
<p class="blog-para">The civil enclave is operated by the AAI. Of the 180 flights daily, there is a very large concentration of civilian traffic in the period between 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm on weekdays, with the balance in the early morning hours.</p>
<p class="blog-para">This is because of naval restrictions for military flight training purposes throughout the year. In September 2017, the AAI and the Indian Navy entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to construct a full-length, parallel taxi track suitable for Boeing 747-type aircraft and agreed to share the cost of construction. The environmental clearance for the project was received in January 2018.</p>
<p class="blog-para">The The project, which involved the development of a 3,710-metre-long parallel taxi track along with associated facilities, would be completed in three phases. The first phase was completed by November 2019.The completed taxiway was opened in December 2019.It raised the capacity of the runway from 15 air traffic movements (ATMs) per hour to 18&ndash;20 ATMs per hour.</p>
<p class="blog-para">The Navy's premises straddle the Dabolim runway, and consequently, its personnel would cross the runway at one point (on foot, bicycles, or in vehicles) between flights. As part of the works undertaken in 2018, a peripheral road was built so that local traffic would no longer affect flight movement.</p>
<p><img class="img-fluid p-lg-0 rounded w-100 " title="History of Goa International Dabolim Airport" src="../../../main/img/airport/goa/1.webp" alt="History of Goa International Dabolim Airport"></p>