loitering around for more than five minutes at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport’s domestic arrival terminal (1A) with your car will now burn a huge hole in your pocket.
The Delhi International Airport limited (DIAl) has started levying an overstaying charge of `100 if someone fails to exit the ‘pick up lane’ after five minutes. The penalty will keep increasing by `50 for every five minutes spent thereafter.
“The lane serves to over 800 vehicles during the peak hours. In a situation where many park for a long duration in a haphazard manner, some kind of deterrent became necessary. The system has been 75 per cent effective to get the lane cleared in the prescribed time limit of five minutes. The purpose of a pick up lane is rightly served as vehicle owners are now extra cautious and vacate the space for genuine users,” said an airport official.
According to the airport operator, the new system is a means to ensure traffic discipline and deter those who use it as a parking space in order to avoid the parking charges. The general parking rate at the airport is `70 for the first 30 minutes.
“At present the slips are given at the entry point with the date and time printed on them, which is checked at the exit point. For vehicles overstaying the said time limit, the penalty is calculated and charged at the pay booths located at the exit point,” a DIAl spokesperson said, explaining the working of the pick up lane.
If a driver loses the slip, `500 will be charged as penalty. “This is neither a parking charge nor a challan but a means to deter those who use the lane for unauthorised parking for long period and cause inconvenience to other passengers. Such practice is prevalent in many airports across India — including Mumbai and Kolkata,” the spokesperson added.