Flights to Mopa likely to cost 25-75% more than to Dabolim

Panaji: Contrary to expectations of cheaper flights, flying to Manohar International Airport, appears to be more expensive than landing at Goa International Airport, Dabolim. Ahead of the long Republic Day weekend, flights to the Mopa airport (GOX) are 25-75% costlier than to Dabolim (GOI).
The Mopa airport, which was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on December 11, is set to commence operations from Thursday. From day-1, airfares from Delhi are marginally higher, with flights to Mopa starting at Rs 5,429, as against Rs 5,138 to Dabolim.
On January 25, the cheapest flight from Delhi to Mopa is at Rs 8,350, while flights to Dabolim cost around Rs 6,655 per person. For the R-Day weekend, round trip flights from Delhi to Dabolim and back will cost Rs 15,909 per person. A similar trip for the same weekend but from the the Mopa airport will cost a minimum of Rs 17,412 per person.
For perspective, tickets from New Delhi to Dabolim were priced at around Rs 10,500 for December 23 and 24, as against the usual fare of Rs 6,500.
January 26, a public holiday, falls on a Thursday, and if one takes Friday off, it is easy to have a four-day weekend.
For someone looking to fly from Bengaluru to Goa a day ahead of Republic Day, the flight to Dabolim will cost Rs 4,678 for a direct flight per person. To Mopa , the cheapest flight is Rs 5,375 per person. On a regular day, a flight ticket to Bengaluru from Goa costs Rs 3,500, but it was priced around Rs 7,200 in the run-up to the New Year weekend, which is considered peak time for Goa’s tourism sector.
The new international airport, which is around 35km away from the state capital, is counting on its proximity to nightlife and the North Goa coastal belt to woo passengers. The GMR Group, which developed the airport at a cost of around Rs 2,870 crore, estimates that 70% of tourists coming to Goa head to the North Goa coastal belt.
While Mopa may enjoy a locational advantage, it also has higher charges — there’s a user development fee (UDF) of Rs 450 on every outbound domestic flyer, and Rs 1,100 on every outbound international flyer.
Flights to and from Goa are only set to soar further every year as the UDF increases. In June 2022, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) hiked Goa International Airport’s (GOI) aeronautical charges levied on airlines and the UDF, which is passed onto flyers.
From April 1, 2023, to March 2024, fliers from Dabolim will have to pay a UDF of Rs 430 for domestic flights and Rs 760 for international ones. From financial year 2024-25, the UDF will increase to Rs 495 for domestic flights and Rs 825 for international flights. And in financial year 2025-26, the charges will be Rs 570 (domestic) and Rs 900 (international).