Parking fees raised, duration reduced at Odisha’s lone airport

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 16:

Parking fees at Biju Patnaik International Airport in the Odisha Capital have gone up by amounts varying between Rs 5 to Rs 20.

As if that was not enough, the parking duration against the token has also been reduced, leading to dissatisfaction among passengers.

As per the revised fee structure, cars will now have to pay Rs 55 for two hours against the earlier fee of Rs 40 for four hours. Two-wheelers would now pay Rs 15 against Rs 10 earlier; tempos, mini-buses and SUVs would pay Rs 60 against Rs 45 earlier and heavy vehicles like buses and trucks would cough up Rs 70 against Rs 50 earlier.

The fees would be calculated based on a two-hour slot.

The vehicles would, however, be exempted from paying the parking fee if they reach the 50 metres mark behind the exit gate within five minutes of entering the airport.

It may be noted that parking fee collection has been a constant source of friction between visitors and fee collecting agents. Most of the disputes end up at the police station leading the authorities to revoke the license of the vendor.

The authorities at the airport had earlier formed a committee to suggest procedures that can help avoid the chaos at parking fee collection point.  The committee has submitted its report and a new vendor will be appointed based on it. In the meanwhile, fees are now being collected by the staff of Airport Authority of India (AAI) themselves.

“Parking fee has been revised in all airports. That’s why we have implemented the new fee structure. Right now, our employees are collecting the parking fee, but we will hand it over to another organisation in the coming days. We will ask them to wear uniforms to maintain discipline and will also train them to behave well, if needed,” said Director of the Airport Sharad Kumar.