Flying abroad? Start early as new route to city airport can clog up

Air passengers travelling abroad from Mumbai will now have to leave their homes early to reach the international airport on time, as the approach road to the airport has been altered due to construction of a new terminal.

Air passengers travelling abroad from Mumbai will now have to leave their homes early to reach the international airport on time, as the approach road to the airport has been altered due to construction of a new terminal.

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The Mumbai airport operator has issued a circular stating the new exit and entry routes to the international airport. While traffic heading towards the airport will be diverted from the Ambassador Flight Kitchen junction, vehicles travelling from the airport terminal will take the same route back in the opposite direction. This is expected to create traffic chaos. Earlier, the entry and exit routes for the airport terminal were entirely different.

Also, the diversion while going towards the airport adds at least 15 minutes to travel time. “We have put new signage to guide motorists,” said a Mumbai Inter-national Airport Limited said.

Most airlines have asked passengers to reach the airport early to avoid missing their flights. Singapore Airlines’ check-in counter will open four hours before a flight’s departure. The airline will shut the counters an hour before take-off. Usually, international passengers have to reach the airport three hours prior to departure.

Kingfisher Airlines has also alerted passengers to leave home early. The airline has also circulated a map of the new approach road among travel agents.

The new timings have irked passengers. “I am amazed that they chose the Diwali week to schedule this work. Reaching the airport will be a nightmare now,” said Shyam Bakshi, a Malad resident, who is scheduled to fly to Bangkok next week.