Now, shell out 42% more for parking your car at airport

Up until mid-December, passengers driving into the international airport only paid Rs 60 and were allowed 20 minutes parking for free. Now, the AAI has increased the parking fee to Rs 85 and cut five minutes of the free time, which some passengers say is a bit of a crunch during peak hours as vehicles queue up in the departure channel.Having failed to contract the job despite inviting tender three times, the AAI is presently collecting money by outsourcing the job to a firm run by ex-service men. A section of the airport staff has alleged that the AAI has found it lucrative to carry out the job on its own and has floated a tender with clauses making it impossible for anyone to apply for the business.The staff has also alleged irregularity as the electronic ticket continues to show Rs 60 while the AAI is charging Rs 85. A comparison of two tenders - one floated in September 2014 and the other in December 2014 - clearly reveals the disparity. In the tender floated in September, the minimum reserve licence (MRL) fee was Rs 29,97,000 per month (+ service tax and other government levies as applicable and 10% annual compound escalation), however, in the December tender the MRL escalated to Rs 38,97,000 per month. The AAI also increased the security deposit from Rs 5 lakh in September to Rs 7 lakh in December. And the "gross turnover criteria" changed from 50% of Rs 3.60 crore, ie., Rs 1.80 crore in September to 50% of Rs 4.68 crore, ie., Rs 2.34 crore in the December tender.With passenger traffic at 19,48,511 (international) between April, 2013 to March, 2014, the toll booth is said to make a collection of over Rs 1 lakh per day. An AAI official said, "The normal practice in most airports is only five minutes free, but given the state's peculiarity, we have allowed free parking for 15 minutes". However, the tender document clearly mentions the time allotted to light motor vehicles as 15 minutes, but does not specify the exact amount that can be collected from each vehicle.Air passengers also complained that trolley workers are forcibly demanding payment after utilizing the free trolley service at the international airport. "This is an ongoing issue as the trolley workers are not paid by the AAI. There are some 40 trolley workers inside and 20 workers outside the airport and they are expected to make Rs 7,000 per month. They have no option but to resort to such behaviour. We recently met with the airport director S Dharmaraj and asked him to authorize a minimum wage and ESI policy for the trolley workers," said a BMS union representative.