For R. Venkatesan, a frequent flyer from Chennai, a recent trip to the city was one of the smoothest in his memory – at least when it came to getting dropped at the airport and picked up on his return. “When I came to the airport to go to New Delhi, the vehicle that brought me left immediately after I alighted from it. Similarly, when the same vehicle came to pick me up, I was able to go upto it at the car park without any difficulty.”
Dr. Venkatesan is one of the passengers who have begun to experience the smooth flow of the vehicular movement at the airport in recent days. The new counters set up to register the entry and exit of vehicles at the airport have helped in reducing congestion, passengers say.
On the same lines is the feedback from the Air Passengers' Association of India. The organisation's National President, D. Sudhakara Reddy said that after the introduction of the counters for issuing tokens for vehicles, congestion at both the arrival and departure areas has substantially reduced. In addition, the removal of some of the support structures for the new terminals has also reduced the time taken by vehicles for reaching the departure terminal.
Mr Reddy said a meeting of the Chennai Airport Advisory Committee was held last month. In the meeting, it was indicated that by the time the new terminals are opened, the congestion will be completely eliminated and there will be sufficient parking available.
Data with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) showed that on an average, nearly 14,000 vehicles enter the airport a day, of which nearly 5,000 of them exited within the stipulated five minutes.
E.P. Hareendranathan, Airport Director, Chennai Airport, said under the earlier system, taxis that came to drop passengers used to hang around on the airport premises, hoping to take some passengers to the city or its suburbs. “Those vehicles are absent now, which is one of the main reasons for decrease in congestion.”
Under the new system, any vehicle that stays for more than five minutes inside the premises has to pay a fee of Rs 60. This is valid for four hours and the vehicle will be parked in the ordinary car park. For premium parking, it is Rs 120 for four hours, he added.
