Panaji – Goa's tourism season 2025-26 kicked off on Thursday with the arrival of a charter flight from Russia, at Manohar International Airport in North Goa during wee hours.

Passengers of the first international flight of the season were given a traditional welcome by the state tourism department.

Director of state tourism Kedar Naik was present at the airport located at Mopa in North Goa to welcome the travellers.

A senior tourism department official said that this season will witness the introduction of three new weekly flights from Novosibirsk city in Russia which will land at the Mopa airport.

“These additional services, together with the existing flights from Yekaterinburg and Moscow, will increase Aeroflot's operations to nine flights per week, highlighting the strong demand for Goa as a preferred tourist destination,” he said.

The second 158-seater charter flight from Novosibirsk will land in Goa on October 3 at 6 am.

Yekaterinburg will connect to Goa with B737-800 flights carrying 158 passengers each, arriving on October 4 at 6.05 am and again on October 5 at 8.05 am.

A direct service from Moscow on the larger A330-300 aircraft, offering 296 seats, is scheduled to arrive on October 5 at 9 am.

He said that expanding beyond Russia, international connectivity will be further enhanced as charter flights from Kazakhstan commence operations to Goa from October 25.

The tourism department has said the expanded network is expected to significantly increase the flow of international tourists into the state, particularly during the high-demand year-end season.

In a media statement issued here, state Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said,“Goa is ready to welcome tourists with open arms as we step into a vibrant new season.”

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