Bengaluru airport suspends controversial vehicle entry fee after protests
pick-up lanes at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will no longer come with a fee. Hours after Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which manages KIA, introduced an entry charge for accessing the arrival pick-up lanes at both Terminals 1 and 2, it has suspended the move, following protests, according to TOI.
Initially, there was some resistance from a portion of the driving community, causing BIAL to temporarily halt the fee collection. However, a source within BIAL clarified that taxi aggregators and airport taxi operators, who have their own designated lanes, are exempt from this new fee.
Private vehicles were earlier not charged for the first seven minutes of access to the pick-up lanes but had to incur a fee of Rs 150 for the subsequent seven minutes. Commercial vehicles, on the other hand, were to be charged Rs 150 for the first seven minutes and Rs 300 for the next seven minutes. Buses were required to pay Rs 600, and Tempo Travellers Rs 300. If a ticket is lost, a fixed fee of Rs 600 applied.
Vehicles that are left unattended or remain in the pick-up area beyond 15 minutes were to be towed at the owner's expense to the police station. According to a notice, «Vehicles carrying white registration plates are classified as 'private vehicles.' Those with yellow registration plates, self-drive yellow plates, and EV commercial vehicles are categorized as 'commercial vehicles.'»
Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Operators' Association, criticized the new fee, told TOI,
