Multi-Level Car Parking creates more chaos at international airport

CHENNAI: The Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP) at the Chennai international airport was inaugurated with much fanfare a month ago and touted as the answer for all traffic woes and the parking congestion suffered by passengers and visitors.

But despite the hoopla, finding a parking spot is a challenge, and it compounds when you add the time taken at entry and exit points and the ensuing chaos. Since visitors to the airport are always pressed for time, most park their vehicles outside the MLCP.

Even the staff at the Airport Authority of India, police and other workers, who have to exit and enter the airport multiple times on any given day, find it difficult to access MLCP. A few passengers that DT Next spoke to mentioned that there used to be two ways to enter the airport “but now those two entrances are closed. All the domestic and international passengers are asked to enter the airport through the road near the Tirusulam subway. This causes huge traffic jams”.

Vehicles are forced to pay parking fare since it takes more than 10 minutes to drop and pick-up passengers. “We understand that the MLCP is a very good development for the Chennai airport, but things should be organised properly. If it takes more time to access the parking lot, it’d not be useful for anyone,” said Johnson, a regular passenger based in Chennai.

While admitting that there were problems with the MLCP, an official at the airport said: “Ever since it was inaugurated, we’re rectifying these issues after studying complaints daily. The new facility is just a month old, and these are teething problems. It’d d take some time to normalise.”

The MLCP was inaugurated on December 4 in Chennai airport. It was constructed at an estimated Rs 250 crore and is supposed to handle 2,150 cars and 700 two-wheelers at the same time.