Following protests by taxi drivers and public outrage over the reduced free waiting time for cabs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, airport authorities have increased it to 15 minutes.
The Bengaluru International Airport Limited issued a statement on Friday announcing that free parking at Terminal 1’s P3 and P4 pick-up zones had increased from eight minutes to 15 minutes.
“Building on our commitment to continuously enhancing the passenger experience, we have been consistently taking stock of passenger and stakeholder feedback to further improve the arrival and kerb-side experience at BLR Airport. As part of this effort, we have extended the free parking duration at Terminal 1 arrival pick-up areas from 10 to 15 minutes,” BIAL said in a statement on December 26.
“This enhancement is designed to provide greater ease and flexibility for passengers and their families while supporting smoother traffic flow and a more seamless arrival experience,” the BIAL statement added.
BIAL also announced the introduction of shuttles every seven minutes, six cars and ten buggies to link the P3/P4 parking areas to the terminals to “enhance the arrival experience”.
According to a social media post by the airport, when friends and family members are picking up passengers from the arrival gates, private vehicles are allowed to use the private vehicle lane to access Terminal 1 for the pick-up.
In the case of cabs that are authorised by the airport, then the pick up will be at the designated zones for the cabs at Terminal 1, while non-authorised cabs will have to carry out the pick up of passengers arriving at Terminal 1 from the P3 and P4 parking zones, the BIAL said.
The new Bengaluru International Airport parking policy, introduced on December 12, had created a controversy with cab drivers protesting against the policy. The protests included a blockade of the Sadahalli toll gate on the road to the airport.
The protest was triggered by the changed rules for waiting by cabs and private vehicles at the airport’s arrival and pick-up zones at Terminals 1 and 2. Under the new system, private vehicles could enter the curb-side area for free but only for eight minutes.
If a vehicle stayed beyond that time, it faced a fine of Rs 150 for 8–13 minutes and Rs 300 for 13–18 minutes, and anything longer than 18 minutes could lead to the vehicle being towed to the nearest police station with extra charges added.
Commercial vehicles such as yellow-board taxis and electric cabs were hit hardest. They were told they could no longer wait at the terminal curb and instead had to move to special parking zones. For these cabs, the first 10 minutes of parking were free. After that, they had to pay according to the revised charges.
After the new plan was implemented, many fliers discovered that they had to walk long distances from the arrival halls to reach their cabs. Passengers complained of having to walk more than a kilometre to find their taxis.
It was argued that an eight-minute free wait at the curb side is not realistic for a busy international airport since security checks, slow baggage belts and confused passengers can often lead to longer wait periods.
BIAL defended the new policy as being required for passenger safety and convenience, and that the changes were needed because of rising passenger numbers and heavy vehicle movement at the airport. It said stricter rules for the pick-up areas were needed for preventing congestion, unsafe halts and confusion as cars jostled for space near the terminal.