Parking at Mumbai’s domestic and international airports is now the costliest in India. The revision in parking rates has, however, not gone down well with passengers, who slammed the airport authorities’ move as “daylight robbery”.
The parking charges at the domestic airport has been revised to `90 for half-an-hour. The subsequent rate for every additional time parked is `150 for half-an-hour to two hours, `230 for two to three hours,`300 for three to four hours and `90 for every subsequent hour. A flat `1,000 will be charged for vehicles parked for eight to 24 hours.
Similarly, at the international airport, `100 will be charged for every half-an-hour.
According to MNS activist Akhil Chitre, the parking charges at the Bengaluru airport is `60 for two hours, while at Delhi and Hyderabad it is `70 for an hour. “Even the Changi International Airport at Singapore charges $1.50 (`63) for their executive class and $2.40 (`99.8) in the business class for one hour. Why is only Mumbai being fleeced? I will write a letter to the concerned authorities on Friday,” he added.
Alok Tiwari, who had to come pick up a relative from Muscat, said that the airport authorities should have at least issued public notices in newspapers before hiking the charges. “We are not journalists to keep checking the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport website for information. An intimation in at least one newspaper would have been sufficient. We are suddenly greeted with an increased parking charge and have no other option, but to pay,” he said.
Nikhil Jagdale, another passenger said, “I would call this fleecing.
They charge inflated amounts, but put up disclaimers saying that the vehicle’s security is at the owner’s risk.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for the GVK-led consortium that manages the airport, said that the hike is in line with all the government rules and is completely legitimate. “We are trying our best to provide excellent service to our passengers.”