Mopa’s first arrivals sang and then moaned, as app-solute chaos prevailed

06 Jan 2023  |   07:22am IST Mopa’s first arrivals sang and then moaned, as app-solute chaos prevailed Taxi app took ages to download with no Wi-Fi and poor data connectivity;

after the first lot, taxis on the app were difficult to come by; elderly women waited with a smile, bemused that an international airport didn’t have smooth app taxis Team

HeraldMOPA: Even as the grand welcome accompanied by frenzied musical activity, added to a song and dance begging of commercial operations at Manohar International Airport (MIA),

there wasn’t much to sing home  about when many of them emerged out to the ground reality of no net connectivity to download apps followed by no availability of cabs.The

packaging of the first arrivals was undoubtedly beautiful and the welcome reflected the warmth of Goan hospitality. But few were prepared for- after the initial lot- for the long

wait for taxis and before that, the difficulty in downloading the app which would book the taxis.Many tourists waited for half-an-hour or more for the taxi app to get downloaded in

order to book them.Team Herald was on ground zero and witnessed passengers including elderly women complain of long waits for cabs and lack of Wi-Fi connectivity to download the

app. Incidentally there were no pre-paid cab counters available, as against the umpteen promised made.The app of Goa Taxi was complete disaster as a result the staff had to take a

direct counter booking for the taxis. People had to wait in queue to get their taxi booked. Also, number of passengers got stranded as soon after two flights, the taxis under Goa

Taxi were full for booking.As the taxis were not available after two hours, several passengers had to take the Kadamba bus. Meanwhile, some of those who managed to download the

app had a two-hour wait for the cab. A passenger who was waiting for almost half-an-hour said, “I got the app downloaded but there are no cabs to book. But is scheduled after 2

hours so I am just waiting for cab to arrive.”“There is a shortage of staff due to which I am unable to book ticket. I am waiting here from last 15 minutes and I didn’t know

how much longer. Inside the airport it was fun but outside there are no taxis,” a young lady who arrived from Mumbai said. “Taxis are not available, but we are trying to get

one,” a senior lady tourist said. She wanted to get to Arambol, but had not managed to download the app.Airport staff mistook tourists to be taxi drivers and asked them to “get

out”Four passengers arrived from Hyderabad flight wanted to book taxi of Goa Miles however when they found it difficult to download the app they asked an airport staff available