Flyers arriving at Chennai airport directly board cabs in front of T1 terminal at the newly inaugurated Plaza in chennai on Sunday. (Venkadesh story)
The new facility marks the end of a 26-month wait for passengers to access cabs directly from Terminal 1. Chennai airport director M Raja Kishore said that at least 50% of passengers arriving at T1 terminal use cabs, and the plaza will make their experience better. Passengers boarding private vehicles at the kerbside could also be allowed to exit through the A3 gate, so that these vehicles do not remain parked in front of A2 and hinder passenger movement,” said Pradeep Krishnan, a passenger who arrived in Chennai from Trichy.
Some passengers welcomed the move, but said a few minor tweaks could further improve the experience. With a dedicated lane, cabs can exit faster,” said an official. “A lot of vehicles remain parked in front of the A2 gate, and they should be regulated. AAI has made A2 Gate, located right in front of the Plaza entry, the main exit gate instead of A3 Gate to make it easier to spot the plaza and reach pickup point. Apart from stairs, there are ramps on both side for push trolleys. To reach the plaza, cabs can enter only at Meenambakkam end and should go around the Aerohub mall. Similarly, to exit the airport, two different bays have been set up – one for personal vehicles and another for cabs. “Personal vehicles are charged only at the exit, whereas fixed charges are collected from cabs. Also, buggies are operated from T4 to T1 via T2, as well as to the multi-level car parking lot, where they can continue to board cabs.
Earlier, passengers had to wait for a buggy and travel nearly a kilometre to the MLCP to board their cabs. Union civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu virtually inaugurated the cab pickup plaza and the adjoining pickup point on Sunday.