Traffic chaos at the Pune airport has been a frequent complaint for fliers for many years. However, passengers will soon see improvements in arrangements as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) intends to renovate the city-side premises of the existing structure in order to decongest the traffic flow both for departures and arrivals. Officials have already commenced work on the plan and the changes are expected to be visible within six months.
Giving details of the remodel, AAI’s Pune director, Ajay Kumar, told Mirror, “As the number of flights has increased over the last few years, the number of passengers travelling from Pune has also gone up. We conducted various experiments and changes to monitor the incoming and outgoing vehicle flow smoothly, but now there is daily congestion during peak hours and a permanent solution is needed. So, we have decided to remodel the entire exterior premises of the airport from where passengers arrive and depart.”
“We are going to segregate lanes for departure and arrival vehicles by creating separate lanes on the inside road after the entry gate. For departures, there are always friends and family who come to drop passengers off and they often halt or park their vehicles till the passenger has checked in. The remodel will be done for 150 metres from the existing departure and arrival gates. There will be separate lanes for vehicles coming to drop and to pick up passengers and once they have done so, they will immediately be directed to the exit,” added Kumar.
Pune airport sees a daily footfall of around 15,000 passengers, with approximately 5,000 four-wheelers coming for pick-ups and drops. At present, there is a parking lot in front of the airport which has the capacity for around 150-odd cars. To avoid parking fees, passengers halt inside the airport premises as do app-based cabs. AAI had even appointed wardens to monitor the traffic inside the airport.
15/08/17 Dheeraj Bengrut/Pune Mirror
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