New entry, exit pattern at Chennai airport from today

In an attempt to provide convenience and confirm quick entry and exit to Domestic (T1) and International   terminal (T4) at Chennai International Airport, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has planned to put in place the revised traffic pattern, a release said.

With the introduction of new routing, the access to departure and arrival levels in both Domestic and International terminals will be fully separated. ‘Vehicles in the departure level will not have access to parking facility both in domestic and international terminals,’ the release stated.

Similarly, for vehicles arriving to pick up passengers, there will be a separate lane just for pick up and another lane for parking. Pickup lane vehicle cannot access parking and after picking up passengers, the vehicle has to leave the Airport. The vehicles in parking have to pick up passengers only from the designated pickup area in the parking lot, according to the release.

In addition, the time allowed for vehicles in front of terminal will be minimum required time but 10 minutes free time from entry to exit of toll booths will continue and there will be fine imposed to vehicles parking (pickup /drop) in front of terminal more than reasonable time. The pickup will be permitted in front of terminal building only for private vehicles and commercial vehicles are not allowed except authorised cab aggregator Ola, the release added. All other pick-ups will happen only in the parking area.

Commenting on the changes, Airport Director G Chandramouli said the initiative was taken to avoid congestion and reduce time taken to enter and exit the airport. “As of now, the parking tariff remains the same but will be revised soon,” he said.  Chandramouli added that Ola cab aggregator was allowed as they paid a fee for being the authorised cab service and will be allowed in front of the terminal.

The government on Wednesday directed all airports to make public announcements in local language first, followed by Hindi and English, officials said. The latest move follows a directive from Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu. The directions would not be applicable for Chennai airport, which is a silent airport.