Manohar International Airport | |||||||||||
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 Satellite image of the airport | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | GMR Goa International Airport Limited | ||||||||||
| Serves | Goa | ||||||||||
| Location | Mopa, Goa,India | ||||||||||
| Opened | 11 December 2022; 2 years ago (2022-12-11)[1] | ||||||||||
| Hub for | Fly91 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 552 ft / 168 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 15°43′56″N73°52′05″E / 15.7322°N 73.8680°E /15.7322; 73.8680 | ||||||||||
| Website | Manohar International Airport | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  GOX Location of the airport in Goa Show map of Goa GOX GOX (India) Show map of India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025) | |||||||||||
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| Source:AAI[2][3][4] | |||||||||||
Manohar International Airport (IATA:GOX,ICAO:VOGA),[5] is aninternational airport atMopa inPernem taluka,North Goa district in the state ofGoa, India. It serves North Goa and the adjoining districts ofMaharashtra andKarnataka, and as a second airport of Goa afterDabolim Airport inDabolim.
The airport is developed byGMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), aspecial purpose vehicle (SPV).[6] It is built at a cost of₹3,000 crore (equivalent to₹32 billion or US$380 million in 2023).In financial year 2024–25, the airport handled over 4.6 million passengers, which is a little more than its current maximum capacity of 4.5 million passengers per year.[7][2] On an average, the airport handles around 100 aircraft movements and about 15,000 passengers daily.[8] It is the16th-busiest airport in India. It is named after the formerMinister of Defence and the formerChief Minister of Goa,Manohar Parrikar.[5]
The airport was completed and opened on 11 December 2022 and operations started from 5 January 2023 with the first flight byIndiGo.[1][9][10] It was expected to be completed by the financial year 2019–2020,[11] but was delayed due to aSupreme Court order that impeded work on site,[12] and also due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, which caused lockdowns, restrictions, and curfews, resulting in lack of labor and delays in construction.
The airport is built under theBuild Operate Transfer (BOT) model in four phases, with the first phase costing a total of₹1,500 crore (equivalent to₹16 billion or US$190 million in 2023).The airport will cater to 4.4 million passengers in the first phase and 13.1 million by the end of the fourth phase.[13] The concession period for the greenfield project is 40 years, with a possible extension of another 20 years through a bid process, and the revenue share payable by the concessionaire to the government is 36.9%.[14]The airport will operate on a hybrid model with 30% cross-subsidy, and the concession offers 232 acres of land for commercial city-side development for a period of 60 years.[15]
Goa's current airport atDabolim is acivil enclave operated by theAirports Authority of India (AAI) at a military airfield, owned by theIndian Navy. Civilian and military operations share a common runway, resulting in severe airside congestion. This deters the long-term growth of civilian traffic at the airport.[13]
It wasAtal Bihari Vajpayee's flagship project. TheGovernment of India had given its in-principle approval for a second airport in the state of Goa as early as March 2000. However, the project was stuck for 14 years due to land acquisition issues and local litigation.
TheICAO's techno-economic feasibility report submitted in 2013, that projected air traffic of 10 million passengers at Goa by 2035, eventually established the feasibility of the Mopa project.[16] The Goa Government issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the project in October 2014.[17] Five bidders,GMR Group,GVK Group, theAirports Authority of India (AAI),Essel Infra and Voluptas developers expressed interest. Essel Infra partnered withZurich Airports, and Voluptas Developers, which belongs to theHiranandani Group tied-up withVinci Airports,Rome, to bid for the airport project.[18] On October 28, 2015, theMinistry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change granted environment clearance to the project.[19] TheRequest for Proposal (RFP) for the project were issued in January 2016, seeking bids from interested companies to construct the airport. Two of the five companies that responded to the RFQ decided not to participate in the RFP.[18] The bids were opened in August 2016. GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary ofGMR Infrastructure Limited won the competitive bid to develop and operate the airport. The Airports Authority of India emerged as the second highest bidder followed by the consortium of Essel Infra-Incheon. In October, GMR Airports Limited formed theSpecial Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) to raise funds for, design, construct, and run the project.[6] GMR Airports Ltd signed a concession agreement with the Government of Goa on 8 November 2016.[15]
In 2016, the State Government proposed to establish an Aviation Skill Development centre in order to provide employment opportunities at the airport to local youth.[20] The concessionaire would be required to give preference to bona-fide Goans for all jobs at the airport.[21] This Aviation Skill Development Centre was initially to be set up by the concessionaire either at the PernemITI campus or any other ITI centre. However, in 2020, the location of the proposed centre was shifted to the airport premises itself.[22]
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi laid thefoundation stone of the project on 13 November 2016.[23] The State Government acquired 78.41 lakh square metres of land for the airport from villages of Casarvarnem, Chandel, Varconda, Uguem, and Mopa inPernem taluka.[24]In January 2017, the Goa Government declared an area within five km2 radius of the airport as 'Mopa International Airport planning area' for the purpose of regulating growth near the project area.[25]
GGIAL and theMinistry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) signed aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) inDelhi on 31 March 2017 for necessary support from the centre to develop the airport. The master plan of the airport was also reviewed and approved byEngineers India through a separate contract earlier in 2017.[26] GGIAL invited tenders for theEngineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract in June 2017, which was awarded toPhilippines-basedMegawide Construction Corporation in February 2018.[27]
The Goa Government finally put its stamp on the project by enacting "The Goa (Manohar International Airport Development Authority) Act, 2018"[28] on 5 September 2018. Subsequently, theUnion Home Ministry gave security clearance for the construction in October 2018.[29] On 18 January 2019, theSupreme Court ordered the Goa Government and GGIAL to maintain status quo on the project[30] due to environmental impact. Construction of phase 1 of the airport was underway when the top court had given its order. The Court allowed resumption of construction work at the project site in January 2020.[31] 50% of the airport construction had been completed by 2021,[32] and 90% had been completed by July 2022.[33][34]
On 11 December 2022, the airport was inaugurated byPrime MinisterNarendra Modi and renamed to Manohar International Airport after formerDefence Minister and the 10thChief Minister of Goa,Manohar Parrikar.[35][1] It opened for domestic operations on 5 January 2023, with the first flight operated byIndiGo.[9][10][36][37][38]Air India became the first airline to begin regular international flights from the airport toLondon Gatwick Airport from 21 July 2023.[39]
The airport is code 'E' compliant, featuring a 3.5 kilometre long runway with Rapid Exit Taxiways. The airport has an Integrated Passenger Terminal Building, Air Traffic Control (ATC) building, meteorological facilities, a cargo terminal, ancillary facilities for processing and storage, aircraft rescue and firefighting services and infrastructure for aviation fuel.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025) |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Seasonal:Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[40]Novosibirsk,[40]Yekaterinburg[40] |
| Air Arabia | Sharjah[41][42] |
| Air India | Delhi,[43]Hyderabad,Mumbai–Shivaji[44][39] |
| Air India Express | Bengaluru,[45]Chennai,[45]Delhi,[45]Hyderabad,[46]Mumbai–Shivaji,Indore,[45]Patna[45] |
| Akasa Air | Ahmedabad,Delhi,Kolkata,Mumbai–Navi (begins 25 December 2025),[47]Mumbai–Shivaji,Pune[48] |
| Fly91 | Agatti,Bengaluru,Hyderabad,Jalgaon,Pune,[49][50]Solapur[51] |
| FlyArystan | Seasonal charter:Almaty (begins 26 December 2025),[52]Astana (begins 26 December 2025)[52] |
| IndiGo | Ahmedabad,Aurangabad,[53]Bengaluru,Chennai,Delhi,Hyderabad,Jaipur,Kolkata,Mumbai–Navi (begins 25 December 2025),[47]Mumbai–Shivaji,Nagpur,Nashik,Pune,Rajkot,[54]Vadodara[55] |
| Oman Air | Muscat[56] |
| Qatar Airways | Doha[57] |
| SpiceJet | Ahmedabad,Delhi,Mumbai–Shivaji,Pune[58] |
| Star Air | Diu,Shivamogga[59] |
| TUI Airways | Seasonal:London–Gatwick,[60]Manchester[61] |
The airport is situated 8 km (5.0 mi) east ofDargalim offNational Highway 66 (NH-66). A new national highway, designated NH-166S, has been built by theNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to directly connect the airport with the NH-66 and the rest of the state and neighbouring states. It was inaugurated by theMinister of Road Transport and Highways,Nitin Gadkari, on 12 July 2024, after about three years of construction.[62][63] The 6.6 km (4.1 mi)-long, six-lane elevated corridor was built at a cost of around₹770 crore (US$91 million). It allows passengers to access the airport from the highway junction within five minutes by bypassing local villages.[64]
The nearest railway station isPernem railway station, on theKonkan Railway.Ride hailing services such asUber andOla Cabs are yet to begin services in the airport.[65] The state-ownedKadamba Transport Corporation operates bus services to the airport fromPanaji,Mapusa, andMargao.[66]
The airport will be directly connected with the nearby neighbouringdistricts of Maharashtra andKarnataka via the proposedNagpur–Goa Expressway by the next 4–5 years. The expressway, which will begin nearNagpur atWardha district will terminate at an interchange with the NH-66 atPatradevi, located about 20 km (12 mi) north from the airport on the Maharashtra–Goa border.[67][68]
Additional domestic connectivity will be enhanced when Hyderabad (HYD) services commence on May 3, 2025.
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