No autorickshaws to airport’s T3 now on

If you are planning to take an autorickshaw to reach the airport, get ready for harassing times, as Autorickshaws and public transport are now barred from anywhere near Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. HT reports

If you are planning to take an autorickshaw to reach the airport, get ready for harassing times, as Autorickshaws and public transport are now barred from anywhere near Terminal 3 (T3) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

HT Image

Passengers arriving in autorickshaws are stopped more than two kms away from T3, near the Centaur hotel.

They then have to wait for the shuttle bus service, run by the airport operator, load luggage into the bus and reach T3.

“This is harassment of passengers by airport authorities. If I can come all the way to the international airport in an auto rickshaw, what is the problem if I cover the small distance to the terminal in an auto?” asked Suresh Kumar, who had to board a flight to Dubai.

“Why are private cabs allowed at the terminal and not auto rickshaws, which take up less space on the road?”

Though there are no prepaid auto rickshaw booths in either the domestic or the old international terminals, the autowallahs could still drop passengers at the departure area. At T3, they are not even allowed on the road to the terminal.

“This is discriminatory, as there are many who use autorickshaws and buses to reach the airport,” said Pankaj Agarwal, a frequent flyer and the Secretary General of the Delhi RWAs Joint Front.

“It is not just the rich who fly,” said Naresh Kumar, Delhi Transport Corporation chairman and managing director.

However, private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. is justifying the move on security grounds. “This arrangement will contribute to a more effective security environment but also ensure decongestion and a smooth flow of traffic into and out of the terminal,” a DIAL spokesman said.