Panaji: Goa’s Manohar International Airport at Mopa, which operates under a 36.99% revenue-sharing pact with the state government, paid out Rs 101.3 crore in concession fees to the state in 2025-26, up from a Rs 38.3 crore payout the previous year, GMR Airports Ltd. disclosed.
Despite this revenue-sharing milestone, the airport faced turbulence in its financials during the year gone by. The West Asia crisis resulted in soaring fuel costs, disruptions in air traffic and airlines cutting down on their flight schedules.
Data from a GMR Airports investor presentation reveals that the airport handled 5.4 million passengers in 2025-26, reflecting a 15.2% rise from the 4.66 million passengers handled the previous year. However, financial challenges arising from capacity expansion and interest on debt caused net losses to mount to Rs 331.2 crore in 2025-26, up from Rs 269.5 crore the year before.
The airport’s total income for 2025-26 stood at Rs 304.5 crore, down from Rs 398.6 crore in 2024-25, while its net debt currently stands at Rs 2,500 crore. The airport’s total capacity is 7.7 million passengers.
To bolster its ecosystem, the Mopa airport currently has four ongoing hotel projects under various stages of construction and approval via third-party development, which will offer a total capacity of over 900 rooms. These upcoming projects include Radisson Blu (225 rooms), two Ginger hotels (280 rooms total), Hyatt Palace (210 rooms), and Marriott (200 rooms).
Connectivity also expanded during 2025-26, with the airport adding four new international routes: Almaty, Manchester, Astana and Novosibirsk. Additionally, it introduced nine new domestic routes, connecting to Bhubaneswar, Diu, Hisar, Chandigarh, Nanded, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi, Solapur and Surat.
On the global stage, the airport achieved Level 2 carbon accreditation and won the 2026 Skytrax Award for the best airport in the under 5 million passenger category. It was also recognised as the cleanest airport in India and South Asia, climbing to a global ranking of 64, up from 80 earlier.
Dabolim out of top 10 busiest list
Vasco: Goa’s Dabolim Airport has slipped out of the list of India’s top 10 busiest airports in terms of domestic passenger traffic for April 2026, according to the latest data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The airport, which handled 5,08,785 domestic passengers in March 2026 and secured a place among the country’s top 10 busiest airports, witnessed a decline in passenger movement in April, leading to its exit from the rankings.
According to the AAI data, Guwahati airport registered 5,24,002 domestic passengers in April, enabling it to enter the top 10 list and push Dabolim Airport out of the rankings.
The drop in passenger footfall at Dabolim has raised concerns among stakeholders in Goa’s tourism and aviation sectors, especially during a period when tourism activities are expected to remain steady. Industry observers believe that factors such as seasonal travel fluctuations and increased competition from other airports may have contributed to the decline.
Despite the setback, Dabolim Airport continues to remain one of the key aviation hubs in the region, catering to thousands of domestic and international travellers every month.
