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The first international charter flight of the season landed at the Goa International Airport on Sunday. The Aeroflot flight from Russia brought in close to 250 tourists from Moscow.
“Despite the war that is going on, we have managed to bring in tourists. Every week we will get six charter flights coming in,” said a representative of one of the tour operators. “Flights from Kazakhstan and one flight from Uzbekistan will also come. This season looks to be good.”
Aeroflot will fly to Goa thrice a week from Moscow, and twice from Yekaterinburg. The EU has imposed restrictions on Russians travelling to Europe following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with some countries imposing an outright ban.
Apart from Goa, Aeroflot operates direct flights from Moscow to Delhi throughout the year. The south of India is a popular destination for beach holidays for Russians in the fall and winter. The flights are expected to be in high demand, providing tourists with comfortable and direct access to the Indian Ocean coast. The up-to-date schedule is available on Aeroflot’s website.
“Because of the sanctions, Russians cannot travel to many destinations. They can only fly to Egypt, Dubai and a few other nations. So this is an opportunity for India and Goa particularly because without charters we cannot survive,” said the tour operator. Hundreds of thousands of Russians are eyeing popular holiday destinations for a summer break.
“Aeroflot from Russia landed on Sunday morning at Goa International Airport. Extended a warm reception to the arriving passengers and ensured smooth transit experience,” Goa airport director S V T Dhanamjaya Rao tweeted.
UK-charter operators are also anticipating an upbeat charter season from November.
Hoteliers and charter operators expect this season to be better than 2022 since the visa issues that plagued tourists last year have been resolved.
“We have one flight from Israel and three from Kazakhstan. We now have scheduled flights connecting Europe to Goa, and this will bring more people directly instead of waiting for just charter flights,” said Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Nilesh Shah.
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