Ya, that's right. Its like the proverbial "mailed fist in a velvet glove". I am talking about an article in HERALD innocuously titled "Plan for a better Goa needed" by a JM Noronha and dripping with "sweet reason".
He starts with a global vision of tourism and its sustained growth, quick-stepping smartly to how technology can help. This enables him to launch into a pitch for the A380 and voila, Mopa is the best place for a new A380 airport for India and Goa! After dissing Dabolim and futuristically envisaging the usual alternatives to beach tourism he touchingly places his faith in a 6-lane north-south expressway to solve the surface transport problem posed by Mopa. He is of course betting on the fact that people who want to visit Goa are prepared to risk life, limb, wallet or whatever to do so. The main flaw in his argument is that he has wrongly latched onto the A380 as the solution to the problem he identifies. This plane is designed for hub-to-hub traffic. It would make a lot of sense, say, on Dubai-Mumbai/Delhi. But Dubai-Goa? For the latter the Boeing aircraft like the 777 and 787 may be more appropriate. They are built for point-to-point travel e.g. Stanstead-Goa or Berlin-Goa which charter tourists might prefer. The other problem with the A380 fixation is the elementary one of trying to run before walking! Why should Goa be the guinea pig for far out experiments? This is just pulling the wool over poor gullible(?) Goan eyes. It is just the bait to get it to give up Dabolim. This must not be allowed to happen. Cheers!
