Chennai: Chennai airport has failed when it comes to managing the after effects of demonetisation. While small grocery shops and eateries could purchase card swiping machines to facilitate customers, the city airport owns none of them at its 12 parking counters.
Lapses at the city airport surfaced after the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which waived off parking charges in all airports resumed it from midnight of Monday. AAI also mandated all airports to place a card swiping machines for sake of passengers.
Tension prevailed from the mid-night of Monday, as thousands of passengers were up in arms against airport authorities for the negligence. Adding to their grievance is the non-acceptance of the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes at the parking lots. It could be noted that the airport charges - Rs 25 for two wheelers, Rs 150 for cars and Rs 250 for mini-buses - for the initial two hours, which gets doubled for each four hours.
Venting out his anger, a Sri Lankan passenger, Shanthini, said, “Only after learning that AAI has mandated swiping machines did I avoid exchanging cash at the long queue in airport. This is a serious apathy by officials.” Spokesperson of Chennai airport Jayachandran told DC, “Employees at the parking lots are private contractors. We do not have machines in stock now. However, normalcy will return in two weeks.”
The spokesperson said that he would talk to the commercial department of the airport and promised this reporter to solve the crisis at the earliest. Condemning the AAI's move, passengers said that the Chennai airport should waive off the charges till they equip the infrastructure. Passenger P. Rahul questioned, “When the highways department could waive off the parking charges till December 2, why can't the civil aviation do the same?”
