Vijayawada: In a first at airports across the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has set up a FASTag-enabled car parking facility at the Vijayawada International Airport.
With FASTags becoming mandatory and widely used across the country, AAI officials said they persuaded the private agency running the airport to provide parking based on FASTags.
Under the pilot project, no parking fee will be collected from vehicles for six minutes, as those wanting to drop off or pick up people can do so and exit the premises without bearing the cost of the parking fee.
After the initial six minutes, a parking fee of Rs 20 will be applicable for a half hour and Rs 55 for up to seven hours, after which Rs 10 per hour will be levied. For 24 hours, a fee of Rs 165 will be applicable. The fees are applicable for cars, tempos, mini buses and SUVs.
Commercial vehicles with yellow registration plates will be charged Rs 30 for half hour, Rs 65 for seven hours and Rs 195 for 24 hours, with Rs 10 per extra hour.
At present, the airport can accommodate 180 vehicles, with around 250 entering and exiting the airport daily.
The director of Vijayawada International Airport, M. Lakshmi Kanth Reddy, said, “We have launched the FASTag-enabled parking facility for vehicles at our airport and it is first of its kind in airports being operated by AAI in the country. It is aimed for the benefit of people as we are not charging any fee for first six minutes of arrival into the airport as the air passengers can be dropped or picked up within that time without paying a fee.”
Meanwhile, airport officials are also conducting RT-PCR tests for arrivals from Sharjah and , with around 500 passengers arriving every week, as a precautionary measure, officials said.
