Mumbai airport T-2 introduces free parking window

Every year Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airportrsquos Terminal 2 handles nearly 55 million passengers Almost as many people also arrive just to pick up friends and family making airport access a daily test of patience timing and parking costs Last yearrsquos September midday reported about the lack of free pickup time options at the Mumbai airportA board displaying fares outside the parking zone at Terminal 2 PicsShadab KhanAfter the report Mumbai airport operators introduced a 0 to 8minute free parking window at the T2 parking facility late last year While the move was meant to offer relief a midday test drive found that the window is often too short to be practically useful especially during peak hours Many visitors told midday they were unaware such a free window even existed despite signage now being displayed across the airportHow eightminute window worksThe free window applies only within the parking facility forcing vehicles to enter the P5 parking level locate passengers load luggage and exit within eight minutes to avoid chargesA display board at the parking exit shows entry and exit timings along with the parking chargeDue to space constraints and the lack of an elevated pickup road directly from arrival gates this remains the only free option for visitors However middayrsquos onground experience suggests the layout leaves very little margin for errormidday test driveDuring multiple visits midday observed that the system works only if the vehicle is already waiting at the parking level when passengers arrive which is rarely the case In one instance midday followed a group of arriving passengers from the terminal exit to the P5 parking areaPassengers are being picked up from the parking area at Terminal 2The passengers spent nearly three minutes locating their driver and another three minutes loading luggage and boarding the vehicle This left almost no buffer time especially if the vehicle had entered the parking zone before the passengers reached the levelExiting also proved challenging With four exit lanes handling multiple vehicles simultaneously several cars leaving together risk overshooting the eightminute limit by seconds resulting in charges During high air traffic hours when several flights land close together the situation worsens as dozens of vehicles attempt to exit at the same timeEight minutes too tightldquoDuring nonpeak hours it might work but during busy hours it is impossiblerdquo said Sandeep Kumar who visited T2 around noon ldquoAt least 15 minutes are needed If everyone tries to exit within eight minutes it will create chaos with only a few vehicles making it out in timerdquo DK Pal a professional driver who frequently picks up both passengers and family members from the airport offered a more balanced viewldquoThe eightminute window works only when traffic is low and there is coordination between driver and passengerrdquo he said ldquoDuring peak hours with multiple flights landing it becomes difficult because many vehicles are leaving togetherrdquo Pal added that familiarity with the airport layout also plays a role ldquoFor those who know the parking flow well it is manageable For firsttime visitors it is stressfulrdquoWelcome move not enoughSome visitors said the free window though limited is still a step in the right direction ldquoIt is a good start but navigating through the parking makes it hard to exit in eight minutesrdquo said Dolly Satpathy who was at the airport with her daughter Nysa to receive relatives ldquoExtending it to 15 minutes would help That said even this free option is better than nothingrdquoNysa Satpathy added that space constraints at the airport make the lack of express pickup lanes understandable ldquoGiven the limitations the eightminute window still helps visitors avoid parking charges even if it is tightrdquoAirport response awaitedmidday sent queries to Mumbai International Airport Limited seeking clarity on the rationale behind the eightminute limit and whether an extension is being considered No response was received from the operators till press time