Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) parking easy pickings for thieves

Hyderabad: Theft of car parts, including wipers, and other outdoor equipment from the parking area of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is on the rise. While some travellers have approached the authorities concerned to lodge complaints, many others are choosing to ignore the issue instead.

Mathew Antony travelled from the RGIA to Mumbai on November 20. He parked his car (TS07EF 9823) in the designated parking area operated by GMR. “When I returned at around 9 pm the next day, I found that the wiper-blades of my car had been stolen. I lodged a complaint with GMR as soon as I got home, but I received no response from their customer care except for an auto-generated email,” he said. He said that despite being charged Rs 500 for parking for 29 hours, his vehicle was not secure. “The cost of the wipers is around Rs 750. So I have spent Rs 1,250 for parking at RGIA,” he said.

S. Kishore, another passenger who recently travelled to Sabarimala, said, “My family and I travelled to Kochi from RGIA. When we came back three days later, we found that our car’s decorated antenna and wheel caps were missing. But we did not file a complaint.” A source from GMR’s customer care team said that all complaints, whether filed online or offline, were attended to within 48 hours. “In Mathew Antony’s case, we are pursuing the issue by viewing the CCTV camera footage from the parking area,” the source said.