Goa's air traffic witnessed no dip despite Russia-Ukraine war: Airport official

Goa's Dabolim International Airport has seen no dearth of air traffic despite of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, said airport director Gagan Malik.

"I do not see a difference in the air traffic, nor have my number of incoming passengers come down. If my incoming passengers have not dropped, then the outgoing passenger numbers will also not drop."

The Airport Authority of India official also said that flights operated by Russian charter group Rossiya Airlines, continued to fly to and from the Goa airport.

"Rossiya is operating on approved slots. Today (Thursday) there was a charter from Russia in which more than 506 passengers had arrived and 489 passengers had departed. No slot has been cancelled by Rossiya. Domestic flights have peaked very well and it shows that we are heading for normalcy," Malik said.

"Air India's frequency of its London flight is twice a week. They have requested an increase of flight (slot) in one week. There will be three flights a week from Goa," Malik added.

Goa is a popular inbound tourism destination for Europe, and Russians take the top spot in the number of foreign tourists contingents to the coastal state.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine due to Russian invasion, airline companies, who are still recovering from the pandemic, are worried about the impact the war will happen on their business. Sanctions from the west could lead to disrupt in business. The US recently followed the footsteps of Canada and Europe in restricting Russian aircraft from entering their airspace. A retaliatory measure from Russia would mean a dip in flights from Europe to India as well.