You would need to pay more for flights to Goa for six months from April. Here's why

If you were planning a Goa trip this summer you might need to shell out some extra this time. All this is because Indian Navy will be using Dabolim Airport in Goa for their drill for next six months from April onwards. Navy control the Goa airport by more than 10% and has started reducing flight movements.

"The Indian Navy has informed us that they will reduce the number of flights allowed between 12:30 and 15:30 by about 15 flights due to operational reasons. It is a reduction of about five flights per hour from 15 flights per hour allowed earlier," an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official, who did not want to be identified, told The Economic Times.

However, travel experts fear this would negatively impact the flight business as well as the tourism portfolio of India’s most preferred sea destination. As the flights go down in number, the air fares would definitely sky rocket.

"It is a big negative for airlines as well as travel and tourism sector in that area. Any reduction in capacity, when the market is growing, would lead to a spike in fares in and out of Goa. High fares might impact tourism in Goa too," Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer at Yatra-.com, India's second-largest online travel portal told ET.

"Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has written to Parrikar. The ministers are likely to sit together to discuss the issue," the senior aviation ministry official told the financial daily.