Goa airports. Goa international airports - how to get to the Indian coast from Russia? Dabolim airport on the map of India

What to do if your flight is canceled

If a flight is canceled more than 24 hours before departure, passengers will be transferred to similar airline flights. The carrier bears the costs; the service is free for the passenger. If none of the options offered by the airline suits you, most airlines can issue a “ forced return" Once confirmed by the airline, the money will be returned to your account. Sometimes this can take several weeks.

How to check in at the airport

Online check-in is available on most airline websites. Most often it opens 23 hours before the start of the flight. You can go through it no later than 1 hour before the plane departs.

To check in at the airport you will need:

identification document specified in the order,
birth certificate when flying with children,
printed itinerary receipt(optional).

What can you take on a plane?
Carry-on luggage is the items you will take with you into the cabin. Weight norm hand luggage can vary from 5 to 10 kg, and its size most often should not exceed the sum of three dimensions (length, width and height) from 115 to 203 cm (depending on the airline). ladies bag does not apply to hand luggage and is carried freely.

The bag you take with you on the plane should not contain knives, scissors, medicines, aerosols, or cosmetics. Alcohol from stores duty free can only be transported in sealed packages.

How to pay for luggage at the airport
If the weight of luggage exceeds the standards established by the airline (most often 20-23 kg), you need to pay for each kilogram of excess. In addition, many Russian and foreign airlines, as well as low-cost airlines, have tariffs that do not include free baggage allowance and must be paid separately as an additional service.

In this case, luggage must be checked in at the airport at a separate Drop-off check-in counter. If you are unable to print boarding pass, you can get it at the regular airline check-in counter, and check in and drop off your luggage there.

Where to find out the arrival time if you are a greeter
You can find out the plane's arrival time on the airport's online board. The Tutu.ru website has an online display of the main Russian and foreign airports.

You can find out the exit number (gate) on the arrivals board at the airport. This number is located next to the incoming flight information.

Airplanes flying to Goa are served by Dabolim International Airport. On this moment this is the only airfield, an air window that accepts tourists in this paradise. It is located in the city of Vasco da Gama, more precisely on its southern outskirts, directly next to the village of Dabolim, which is located 30 km from the capital Panaji.

Goa airport code: ICAO - VOGO and international IATA- GOI.

Goa Airport Address: 403801, Dabolim, Vasco da Gama, Goa, India.

Phone numbers for inquiries: +91 832 540 806.

Opening hours: from 12-00 noon to 8-00 am.

Parking in front of the airport

Civil aviation makes arrivals and departures only during these hours. From 9-00 to 12-00, flights are carried out military aviation. Passengers are often forced to stand in huge queues at passport control, due to the fact that several planes land literally one after another. This happens due to the limited operating time of the airfield. Flights from Moscow arrive mostly at night or very early in the morning.

Dabolim Airport, goa

There are flights from this goi airport to different countries and cities of the world:

Domestic: Delhi, Bombay, Mumbai, Nakpur, Agra, Lucknow, etc.;
International: Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, etc.

On the official website of Dabolim Airport, the online board will help you find out the schedule of all flights whose arrival times may coincide. Having such information, the passenger can decide how much time he will need to register and prepare in advance for a long queue. At Goa airport, the online display shows information mainly on charter flights. Regular flights are provided to domestic destinations. Passenger check-in begins 3 hours before departure. Usually it takes two hours to complete all the formalities.

Online arrivals board - www.goanairport.com/arrivals.php
Online departure board - www.goanairport.com/departures.php

How to get there

Goa Airport is located at a considerable distance from residential areas. It is for this reason that it is necessary to clarify in advance how to get from it to the desired destination. At the moment, there are three options for resolving this issue:

Transfer. If accommodation is booked through a travel agency for a period of more than a week, the transfer is provided free of charge by the hotel. Otherwise, you can order the service yourself. Its cost will depend on the model of the selected car and the distance to be driven.

In advance, even before arrival, you must contact the company providing this service and provide some details: number of passengers, luggage, preferred level of comfort, exact location hotel where the room is booked.

Depending on the customer’s needs, he can be provided with:

Car for 3-4 passengers;
Minivan for 5-6 passengers;
The bus can accommodate up to 20 people.

Outsiders are not allowed into the terminal building, so the driver will wait at the airport exit with a sign in his hands. Most often, the meeting takes place near an ATM, which almost all newly arrived passengers rush to use before going to the hotel. A traveler can order a transfer online on the website www.intui.travel.

State taxi. The second method, which is popular among those wishing to leave or arrive at the airport, is a taxi. At the exit of the terminal building there is a large yellow poster showing the names of the cities and the cost of travel to them.

Two prices are indicated: the upper one is for a taxi with air conditioning, the lower one is simply for the journey to any resort by taxi without air conditioning.

Having chosen a suitable direction, the tourist pays for the service, receives a receipt and waits for his driver.

Taxi ordering. Dabolim Airport.

Shuttle bus. This is an acceptable option for those traveling on a budget. The fare will be approximately one hundred rupees. The trip can last up to four hours and there is the possibility of making four transfers in different cities.

P After seven in the evening the buses stop running completely.

In addition, those traveling with bulky luggage should not think about traveling by plane at all. public transport. Because first you will have to catch full buses that will fly past. It is simply impossible to fit into such a crowded transport with large suitcases. If you need to get to North Goa, then you need to take a bus that goes to Vasco, and then change to the one that takes you to the capital. All resorts are served by buses from Mapusa and can be reached from Panaji. There are also buses from Vasco to South Goa via Margao.

Those who use own car, can make use of the parking and multi-level parking facilities located near the terminal, which can accommodate 570 cars. The cost of a parking space will be 85 rupees, which is approximately 1.5 US dollars, for 2 hours of rental.* Parking in front of the airport terminal is used by taxis and tourist buses.

Parking in front of the airport

Today the airport consists of two terminals: the first receives domestic flights, and the second serves international ones. Communication between terminals occurs using special buses or taxis. It takes approximately 25 minutes to cover the distance between them. You most likely won’t be able to get lost there, but the diagram may still be useful:

Goa airport diagram.

Services

The airport building is equipped with several points to provide services to passengers:

There are baggage packing counters in the international terminal. It is better to wrap it with film to protect it from dirt, damage and loss of things. The cost of the service is approximately 300 Indian rupees, which is approximately 5 US dollars.*

Lighters are not allowed in luggage. During the inspection they will be required to take them out and leave them.

Dabolim Airport offers mother and child rooms for travelers with children. They are located in the new international terminal, where there are all conditions to take care of the needs of a small child.
There are currency exchange offices in the departure and arrival areas where passengers can change money.
Next to the currency exchange office is the office of the local operator mobile communications Airtel. To purchase a SIM card, you must provide: a copy of your visa, a photocopy of your passport, 2 passport photos.
The ability to have lunch at the airport is difficult. But still, there is a cafe in the building where you can have a snack; it is located in the international terminal. In addition, passengers can satisfy their hunger with snacks from snack machines.
The building is equipped with a medical aid station.

Unfortunately, the airport cannot boast of luggage storage facilities. It is worth remembering that all the things you take with you will have to be carried with you while issues of transportation and finding housing are being resolved.

The VIP lounge is another thing that Dabolim Airport will not boast of, due to its absence.

But there is Wi-Fi at the airport. True, it's paid. To use it, you need to be connected to the Tata Indicom network.

Hotels

Unfortunately, there are no hotels on the territory of the Goa air port, but within a radius of several kilometers you can find perfect place for overnight stay:

Village Club Goa. The hotel is located just 9 km from the airport. It offers cozy rooms, a spa center and a Turkish hammam. Each room is equipped with TV, minibar, wi-fi. The hotel staff can offer you exciting excursion program. There are many cozy restaurants and bars on site.
Coconut Creek- resort area, located just 5 km from the airfield. Guests will be pleased with: swimming area, internet, swimming pool, TV, restaurants, spa, cafes with Indian, Italian and Chinese cuisine. Each room in the zone is equipped with a minibar and personal hygiene kit.
Grand Hyatt. This hotel is approximately 25 minutes from the airport. The hotel territory extends over more than 28 hectares. Almost all rooms offer a gorgeous view of the beach, a set of personal care products and a minibar.

Hotel Village Club Goa.

Goa air harbor accepts seasonal (autumn, winter, spring) charter flights and regular flights of some international companies, flying all year round. Flights of Indian airlines serving big cities countries are accepted daily.

Airlines

Airlines operating regular flights to Goa are:

Emirates (Dubai)
Qatar Airways (Doha)
Air Arabia (Sharjah).
Jet Airways India in collaboration with European air carriers.

Several airlines also operate regular flights from Moscow to Goa at Dabolim airport. The choice of carrier can greatly affect the cost of your flight. U Russian travelers the most popular company is GTK Russia. This carrier operates 14 weekly flights to Goa. The cost of the flight is from 8,370 rubles.* The fastest flight fv 5883 in 6 hours 45 minutes is made by the same company.

In addition to State Customs Committee Russia, 5 more companies operate 11 direct flights a week to Dabolim airport:

HR - Hahn Air - from RUR 10,698.
U6- Ural Airlines- from 8,878 rub.
ZF - Azur Air (Katekavia) - from 15,880 rub.
I4 - iFly - from 9,003 rub.
RL - Royal Flight - from RUR 11,326*

India is becoming more and more popular every year among travelers and vacationers from all over the world. Flow of lovers beach holiday in Goa it grows from season to season. 30% of international flights that arrive at Dabolim Airport are flights from Russia. With the construction of the new terminal, flights have become more convenient and safe.

*Prices are as of June 2018.

Goa airport is called Dabolim, this is where all direct flights to Goa land, although not very direct flights to Goa also fly to Dabolim. Today Goa Airport is a modern building made of glass and metal, but more recently tourists were greeted by the small and cozy Dabolim Airport. However, you can still see the building of the old Goan airport today; it is located a stone’s throw from the new one.

A special feature of Goa Airport is strict control at the entrance to the air terminal building. Only passengers with air tickets are allowed into the airport building; you can buy plane tickets right in front of the airport entrance. But if you are just seeing off friends or relatives, then you have a paid entrance to the territory of Dabolim Airport. In 2015, entry to the airport for two hours cost no more than 50 rupees per person.

Direct flights to Goa from Moscow and St. Petersburg

Thanks to India's growing tourism industry, Goa has direct flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In most cases, direct flights to Goa from Moscow and St. Petersburg are carried out by charter carriers, which are especially active during the peak season. tourist season.

In addition to charter flights, there are also direct flights to Goa from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but be sure to check ticket prices, as most often it will be more profitable to fly to Goa from Moscow.

In addition to direct international flights, you can fly from Goa Airport to the most popular tourist cities India:

Delhi - flight time 2 hours 40 minutes;
Mumbai - flight time 50 minutes;
Chennai - flight time 3 hours;
Kolkata - flight time 3.5 hours;
Bangalore - flight time 1.5 hours.

Flights to Goa price

Goa Airport online scoreboard

You can check the arrival time at Dabolim Airport on the online board. Online scoreboard Goa airport indicates the most up-to-date information on arrival/departure of planes from Dabolim.

Goa Airport on the map of Goa

To make it clearer where Goa airport is located, see Goa map, on which it is marked, as well as all major bus stations in Goa are indicated on the map.

From Goa airport to the resort beaches

Taxi - transfer

The easiest and most reliable way to get from Goa airport to your place of residence is to order a transfer.

You can order a transfer directly from the Internet; a taxi driver will be waiting for you at the airport with a sign with your name on it. All the problems and difficulties in getting you to your hotel/cottage/house or wherever you want are his problem, and all you have to do is enjoy the Goan flavor (everything has already been paid for, but you can tip the taxi driver, it’s at your discretion)/

Prepaid taxi at the airport

You need to find a booth at Goa airport with “Prepaid Taxi” services and pay for the trip to your desired location. Here you should carefully study this post “How taxi drivers cheat in India.” Despite the fact of paying for a taxi service, there can be all sorts of adventures along the way.

On Goan buses

Goa has a well-organized and functioning network bus transportation, details about its work and logistics can be read in the post “How to travel around Goa by buses”. Goan buses can cover the entire state from north to south and from west to east.

There are a few features you need to know:

buses operate from 7 am to 11 pm;
it’s hard to travel if you have a lot of things;
it’s difficult to understand where each person is going, there are no numbers or signs;
there are a lot of people;
On weekends there are long intervals in bus service.

If you decide to travel from Goa airport by bus, then the route is very simple. Exit the airport terminal and cross the road (next to the traffic light). You literally have to stand above the railway tracks; there is no designated stop here (as in most cases in India), but there are always people crowding around here waiting for the bus.

Next, stop all the buses (or rather, they will stop themselves). Your task is to get to the Vasco De Gama bass stand (bus station in the city of Vasco De Gama). The cost of travel by bus from Goa airport to Vasco De Gama is no more than 10 - 15 rupees, the travel time is 10 minutes.

In the city of Vasco De Gama, get off the bus in the Vasco market area. At this intersection on one side there will be Train Station Vasco De Gama (walk 3 minutes), and on the other bus station Vasco De Gama (walk 4 minutes). If you are unsure of the direction, check with the locals.

If you are traveling from Goa airport to northern beaches, then the route is as follows:

Vasco Da Gama bus station - Panaji bus station. The journey takes 30 minutes. Price 45 rupees;
Panaji bus station - Mapsa bus station. There are direct buses from Panaji to Calangute. The journey takes 20 minutes. Price 15 - 20 rupees;
from Mapsy bus station to any place North Goa, but there are direct buses from Panaji to Calangute. Go to the most north goa(to Arambol) 60 minutes.

If you are traveling from Goa airport to southern beaches, then the route is as follows:

intersection near Goa airport - Vasco De Gama bus station. The journey takes 5-10 minutes. Price - 10 - 15 rupees;
Vasco Da Gama bus station - Margao bus station. The journey takes 40 minutes. Price 45 rupees;
from Margao bus station to any place in South Goa. Buses run every 15 minutes, prices start from 10 rupees.

The only airport of the famous world resort near the town of Vasco da Gama in the state of Goa (India) is Goa Dabolim International Airport. Tourists from Russia know it from one of the two terminals operating on international flights. The second terminal is adapted to receive domestic passengers. In total, the airport works with more than two dozen different airline carriers.

From here there are flights to different countries of the world and their cities, including:

domestic to India: Delhi, Bombay, Agra, Mumbai, Nakpur, Lucknow, etc.;
international: to Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk), Ukraine (Kyiv), Great Britain (London), Kazakhstan (Almaty), etc.

The flight display mainly includes charter flights, regular flights Internal directions are covered.

History of development

The history of the emergence of the airport near the small Indian village of Dabolim, located in the central part of the Indian state of Goa, dates back to the late fifties of the last century. The favorable location of this area near the administrative center of the state, the city of Panaji, attracted the attention of the then Portuguese-colonial leadership. The authorities decided to build an airport here for TAIP airline planes, which served destinations to Mozambique, Karachi, etc. At the same time, the airport was used to receive flights from the Portuguese metropolis.

With India gaining independence from Great Britain, Indians began to gradually annex other territories that had previously belonged to other states due to colonial affiliation to their state. Among such objects recaptured by the Indian Air Force was the airport in Dabolim, which finally passed into the hands of the Indian authorities in early 1962.

The airport, which suffered air bombing, did not carry out any civilian flights for a long time, becoming a military airfield for the Indian Air Force. Today, decades later, it is still in the hands of the military, including for military aircraft.

However, thanks to the persistence of the Goan authorities, they still manage to find a common language with the military, because, in addition to this, there is no longer any airport in Goa, a popular Indian resort. Meanwhile, for the development of tourism, the main economic sector of this territory, an airport is essential. After all, it is by air that the main movements of tourists to these places are carried out, and it is tourism industry is the backbone of the development of the entire state and India as a whole.

Features of air traffic in Goa

In general, Dabolim Airport is a complex located on 101 hectares of land. It has two terminals, or rather there were two until 2014, when a new air terminal was built and inaugurated, connected to both terminals at once. So everything you need modern airport services are provided here.

The airport mainly specializes in charter flights and hosts them in the amount of approximately 90 percent of all charters in India. They form the basis of the Goa airport display: the majority of all flights are charters, by the way, every third flight of them is departing from Russia. Dabolim Airport is indeed extremely popular among Russians, and it has gained just as much popularity among residents of Great Britain.

Indians themselves rarely use the services air traffic– the country is poor, and the prices for air travel are exorbitant in the understanding of the average local resident. So the bulk of flights here are international charter flights, while domestic ones complement the overall picture. In general, the airport handles a tenth of all foreign passengers traveling to India for tourism purposes.

Services, service, information at Goa airport

In general, the airport provides fairly decent services for such a small facility. There is:

free Internet,
Duty Free shops and souvenir shops,
luggage packing;
cafe, etc.

As for the information security of passengers, for this purpose there is a help desk at the airport where you can find out everything about air tickets and flights. There are a number of information stands with updated information. There is a voice notification system about flight status. However, according to reviews from tourists, the constant noise at the airport and unclear notifications cause inconvenience, so passengers receive the most accurate and understandable information at Goa airport from the online board of aircraft arrivals and departures. Flight delays at the airport can also be reported using inscriptions on simple boards such as chalk price tags.

Goa airport online display

The online charter flight board can tell you how Dabolim Airport works. This board provides information about which aircraft are delayed, which aircraft are expected to arrive, and the departure time of those prepared for flight. aircraft etc. The latest, most relevant and accurate information on departure and arrival times of aircraft is collected here. Like other similar information systems in different parts of the world, the information board operates in local time, which must be taken into account when applying for information.

Current information is also posted on the official website of the airport in Goa at the link https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en&tl=ru&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F&anno=2 you can find the main page of the site (it is in English, but the text is automatically translated), from the main page you can also find the online arrival and departure board of aircraft, respectively, links https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en&tl=ru&u=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F and https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=en&tl=ru&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goanairport.com%2F .

Thus, passengers have the opportunity not only to track the location of the aircraft directly using information at the airport, but also to find it out via the Internet.

You can check all flight departures and arrivals at Goa Dabolim Airport, which serves the Goa region of India, using these links. The list contains all the data on the status of the departing or arriving flight.

Video

There is only one airport in Goa called Dabolim. Its abbreviated name is GOI (Goa International Airport). And even then, this is not exactly a tourist airport: most of it belongs to the Indian Ministry of Defense. Today the airport has two terminals: Terminal 1 serves domestic flights, and Terminal 2 serves international flights.

Goa's "air gate" was built in the 1950s by the Portuguese (at that time the state was a Portuguese colony and was not part of India). But the struggle for Indian independence did its job - and in 1962, all of Goa (including the airport) was captured by the Indian military. From that time until now Dabolim remains the property of the military forces Indian Republic, a military air unit called “Khansa” is located on its territory.

Travel time Moscow — Dabolim- approximately 7.5 hours.

Due to the fact that the airfield belongs to the Indian Air Force, military flight exercises are held on the territory every day from 8 am to 1 pm, and take-offs and landings of civil aircraft are prohibited, so all aircraft arrive in Goa either late in the evening, or at night, or early in the morning (before start of military fighter exercises).

We once found ourselves in a situation where our arrival was late, which is why the flight was delayed by 4 hours. At that time runways The air hub was already occupied by military fighters, and about 300 people sat in the waiting room and watched in silence. We were supposed to fly out at 7 am, but we only managed to fly out around 12 noon. We were lucky, and by some miracle our plane was allowed to take off between the takeoffs of Indian fighters (apparently there was a lunch break). And we already expected to wait until the end of the working day.

Also, due to the military nature of the airport, at the entrance there is always a military man with a machine gun and checks the tickets of everyone who wants to enter. Therefore, everyone must have a printout of their electronic ticket, which shows the flight number and date. Entry to the airport terminal with a ticket is permitted no earlier than 4 hours before the departure of your plane.

Dabolim Airport on the map:

Arrival to Dabolim

Upon arrival in India, all tourists are required to fill out an Arrival card; it is sometimes handed out on planes, but most often you have to take it at the Goa airport and fill it out at the counters, so we advise you to have your own pen with you (there are few pens at the counters, and you have to wait your turn to fill the card takes a long time). The Arrival card contains standard information: arrival flight, departure date, which hotel you will stay in, which cities you plan to visit.

This is what the Arrival Card looks like, which all foreign tourists need to fill out

After filling out the Arrival Card, you need to go with it to border control (if you have an Indian visa pasted in your passport) or to the Visa on Arrival counter (if you applied for an electronic visa, which is pasted into your passport upon arrival).

After passing border control, we head to the baggage claim area. Dabolim is small, so there are only two ribbons. Local “helpers” are on duty at these belts around the clock, who are in a hurry to snatch your suitcase from your hands in order to take it to a taxi, or to the operator’s desk if you did not arrive on your own. They are dressed in some kind of uniform that makes them look like airport employees; in fact, this uniform is “left-handed.”

They know our main operators flying to Goa, so when a confused tourist hears: “Pegasus, let’s go there,” he is sure that this is an employee of the tour operator, whose duties include escorting tourists to the counter. In fact, this is an ordinary Indian who makes money this way. After you and he find the counter of your tour operator (or taxi), he will begin to demand payment from you for his services. They ask for a lot (according to eyewitnesses, from 5 dollars to 500 rupees), although they have to carry a suitcase no more than 50 meters.

There is a currency exchange at the airport, but the rate is extremely unfavorable. Therefore, if you really need it urgently (for example, to pay for a taxi), exchange a small amount (no more than $50). But it’s best to order a car at a prepaid taxi booth (state prepaid taxi) and tell the driver that you will pay the driver in person. At the window you will be given a piece of paper with a fixed price, and already in your village, you will exchange dollars at a favorable rate and pay the driver. The prices for taxis to different villages in Goa are posted at the exit from the airport terminal, so if the taxi driver starts to inflate the price, you should not encourage this. We will provide taxi prices from the airport and distances to popular tourist villages in this article, just below.

State Prepaid Taxi counter at Dabolim Airport

In addition to currency exchange, you can use the ATMs located at the exit of the terminal: simply withdraw money from your card. The ATM dispenses rupees, the conversion takes place inside the bank. The issuance fee for Indian ATMs is standard: 200 rupees. The commission for withdrawing money from your bank may be different: with us, for example, money can be withdrawn without commission anywhere in the world (provided that the withdrawal amount is at least 3,000 rubles). Usually, we withdraw 10,000 rupees and pay 200 rupees for withdrawal - that's 2% of the amount. The smaller the amount you withdraw, the less profitable it turns out.

It is worth considering that Indian ATMs work differently than Russian ones. They do not “swallow” the card - you need to insert it all the way and immediately pull it out: the ATM has already counted all the necessary information. After the card is read and removed, you enter the PIN code, select the desired account and enter the required withdrawal amount.

There is also a sale of Indian SIM cards at the exit to the city. Buying them here is extremely unprofitable: they cost many times more than in the villages of Goa, and if the card malfunctions, there will be no one to file a claim with (you won’t go to the airport by taxi for 1000 rupees to exchange a SIM card for 500).

There are no luggage storage facilities in Dabolim, so leaving your luggage there while you look for accommodation is not possible.

Online scoreboard of Dabolim airport(select the “Departure” or “Arrival” tab) :

Distance from Goa airport to tourist villages and taxi prices

Table with prices from 2017

Route where to go from Dabolim airport	Distance in km	Cost of official state prepaid taxi in rupees (car without air conditioning)	Car with air conditioning
North Goa
Candolim	47	1200	1271
Mapusa	45	1149	1218
Calangute	45	1149	1218
Baga	47	1200	1271
Anjuna	52	1328	1407
Vagator	54	1379	1461
Mandrem	65	1659	1758
We're blinking	63	1608	1704
Arambol	67	1710	1812
Ashvem	64	1634	1731
Pernem	71	1812	1920
Terekol	75	1941	2028
Miramar	37	945	1002
South Goa
Margao	34	869	918
Ponda	41	1047	1110
Cancolim	43	1098	1164
Betul	52	1328	1407
Sanwordem	55	1404	1488
Sanguem	60	1550	1623
Mobor	44	1124	1191
Palolem	70	1787	1893
Loliem	87	2220	2352
Agonda	74	1889	2001
Canacona	68	1736	1839
Benaulim	29	741	786
Kepem	45	1149	1218
Panjim	34	269	921

It is worth considering that at night (from 23:00 to 05:00) another 35% is added to these tariffs. Also, the prepaid taxi charges another 10 rupees from each passenger for luggage.

Departure from Dabolim

About the fact that you can enter the terminal only by presenting your printed card to the military at the entrance e-ticket, we already said. What happens after you go inside?

When departing from Goa, your luggage is carefully checked, and then a yellow sticker is placed on the suitcase lock, which cannot be removed without damaging it. This is how they try to secure the flight (so that they don’t put prohibited items in the suitcase after checking). By the way, it is forbidden to carry any batteries in luggage; we once had a children’s suitcase rejected because it contained a remote control for a car with batteries inside.

Lighters are also prohibited from being carried in both carry-on and checked baggage. Therefore, even souvenir lighters from India are also removed from suitcases.

This is the queue at check-in for the Goa-Samara flight at 4 am

Passenger check-in at counters international departure at Dabolim airport

At Dabolim Airport, a service is available to rewind luggage with plastic film - it costs only 200 rupees. Compared to a similar service in Sheremetyevo, which costs 500 rubles- Indians ask for 2 times less.

We noticed another feature of the Goan airport: special tags are attached to all hand luggage. But this is not the most interesting thing - such tags are issued for hand luggage everywhere. But only at Dabolim airport it will not be possible to bring hand luggage on board without tags: special stamps are placed on these tags after the hand luggage is checked on a scanner, and without these stamps you will not be allowed to pass beyond customs control. At other airports, we often don’t even attach “Cabin baggage” tags at all - and we’ve never had a problem.

In general, the Goa air harbor is small, there are a lot of people, there are queues everywhere. Baggage drop-off and check-in passport control takes a painfully long time, it is better to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours in advance (of course, if you are not traveling with an organized transfer from a tour operator).

Until about 2017, no one asked this question: fruits in special baskets were accepted into hand luggage without problems, even if the basket was not the only element of hand luggage, but was an addition to it. To be fair, it is worth saying that according to the rules, transporting fruit in hand luggage has always been prohibited, but no one paid such serious attention to it.

These are the baskets used to carry fruits from Goa in hand luggage

At the end of 2017, for some reason, this rule began to be followed with special care: everyone was forced to check all fruit baskets as luggage. But the money for them is like for extra luggage, they didn’t take it.

Nevertheless, we witnessed how our enterprising Russian tourists still carried baskets of fruit in their hand luggage: they simply did not show them when checking in their luggage, and were successfully able to carry them on board. The same tourists who asked the workers if it was possible to carry THIS and pointed to the baskets were forced to check them in as luggage.

It is worth saying that during our visit in December 2017, all the baskets arrived safe and sound, they were not unloaded onto a belt, but all the baskets were carefully brought on a separate trolley and placed near the luggage belt.

Most of all, those tourists who were forced to check fruit baskets in their luggage were worried that at the Russian border (according to rumors) half of the fruit would be confiscated by workers, and only a small part of what they were carrying would reach the owners. In view of this, they carefully wrapped the baskets with tape. Whether the tape helped, or whether the customs officers came across honest ones, all the fruits checked in as luggage reached their owners in the same quantity as they were checked in.

Duty free and food courts at the airport

The duty-free zone in Dabolim is very, very modest (about the same as in a Russian province). In fact, there is only one small shop with some alcohol and souvenirs, several fast food nooks with very expensive prices, and that’s all.

On the right is the same nook with fast food. There are no tables where you can eat and drink what you bought. Passengers eat on their seats.

Departure hall: in the distance you can see the only duty-free mini-shop, nothing about it

When our flight was delayed for 4 hours, we had to buy expensive and tasteless (and spicy) burgers at one of two food outlets in the departure area. There is no normal food here. Therefore, I can’t even imagine how to feed children here during a long plane delay. I highly recommend, just in case, stocking up on some healthier food for your children in advance.

Goa airport from the landing strip.

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