Chennai: For passengers arriving at Chennai airport, booking a cab is often only the beginning of the ordeal. They must wheel their luggage to the multi-level car park at the West Aerohub building, which is about 800m away, and navigate multiple levels to reach the booked vehicle. There, many also end up paying more than the listed fare, as drivers pass on the parking charges levied by the airport contractor while they wait for their next trip.Airports Authority of India, on its website, says that for commercial vehicles such as prepaid taxis and cabs, ₹45 is collected for entry to the airport to pick up passengers, with no other charges mentioned. For private cars, ₹85 is collected for a waiting period of 30 minutes, going up to ₹550 for 10-24 hours. But a reply from AAI to an RTI (Right To Information) query has confirmed that similar parking charges are also applied to commercial vehicles parked at the MLCP, resulting in inflated bills.Dayanand Krishanan, of Chitlapakkam, who recently ended up paying ₹180 as extra charges, inquired the details under RTI. AAI’s response was that if app-based taxi vehicles are stationed/parked in the MLCP, additional parking charges are also applicable based on the duration of stay. “The amount charged by app-based cab operators under ‘airport charges’ includes pickup fee and parking charges incurred by the vehicles for occupying MLCP,” it said. AAI also claimed that parking of cabs at MLCP minimises passengers’ waiting time after booking.But both cab drivers and passengers blame AAI for indirectly helping the contractor make profits. “We park the vehicles at the MLCP as it is the only designated spot to pick up passengers. So the parking charges are automatically added to the bill by the cab aggregator. But customers think we fleece them,” said S Karuppasamy, a cab driver who often picks up passengers from the airport.Kannan, a member of the prepaid taxi association, said that their association pays ₹3,000 a month for every members’ vehicle to the contractor, apart from ₹40 per trip. “Cab aggregators’ agreement with the contractor could be different leading to inflated charges,” he said.Dayanand Krishnan said that Chennai airport opting for contract based parking management over the simple taxi pickup arrangement available in major international airports shows that AAI is looking at it as a revenue model instead of considering passengers’ convenience. “Inaugurating the plaza in front of the terminal and opening the second pickup point is the only way to put an end to these inflated bills,” he said, adding, “Parking charges for the private vehicles too are very high compared to other airports. This should also be brought down.”But there is no clear answer from AAI on opening the second pick-up point at the plaza, which has remained closed since it was completed six months ago. Chennai airport director M Raja Kishore said that they are still waiting for legal clearance from AAI, Delhi, to open the plaza.
