Flights diverted, delayed at Goa airport due to bad weater

A combination of bad weather and now low lying clouds has forced the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to divert all incoming flights from Goa's Dabolim airport to nearby airports as well as to delay outbound flights, an AAI spokesperson said on Sunday.

"No flights have been cancelled. Passenger flights, including a charter flight, are being diverted to nearest airports from 4.30 a.m. due to bad visibility. When the directed flights arrived back a couple of hours ago, we had to divert them again due to low lying clouds which made landing difficult," the AAI spokesperson at Goa's Dabolim international airport told reporters here.

Normal air traffic has not resumed at the Goa airport as of now, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, reacting to the diversion of flights, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said that while nothing much could be done about the natural phenomenon of poor visibility and low lying clouds, the flight diversion and delay was a serious problem.

"First and foremost there is heavy rush to come down to Goa, that is greatness of Goa. In the same scenario, if flights are delayed due to a visibility issue, then it becomes a serious problem," Parsekar said.

The Chief Minister said the new airport coming up at Mopa in North Goa would help ease traffic and also provide cover for such contingencies in future.

--IANS

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