Chennai Airport
Date: 18-07-2014
Passengers arriving at the domestic terminal of the Chennai airport now have to put up with a new set of problems. They do not have the facility to get picked up by cars in view of a sudden change in the traffic pattern for a few days now.
Barring VIP vehicles, other cars cannot drive into the service road just outside the arrival hall, airport sources said.
D. Sudhakar Reddy of the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) said that a few days ago when he returned from Mumbai, he and his friends had to take a long walk till the parking area as his car was barred from waiting outside the arrival hall.
“We had a tough time walking all the way till the car park in the rain. If this is the case, imagine the plight of senior citizens and the disabled people,” he said.
Mr. Reddy said he had written to the Airports Authority of India seeking reasons and they replied this was to prevent crowding of the service area causing security concerns.
A police officer said several cars remained parked outside the terminal for long, causing traffic congestion.
“Senior citizens, disabled and pregnant women can wait at the police booth and call their drivers to pick them up from there,” he said.