Pune: Visitors to the Pune airport have always been complaining about the traffic chaos for many years. Hence, the Pune Airport Authority (AAI) has closed the road in front of the terminal building to decongest traffic.

Now, vehicles will drop passengers in front of the arrival and departure terminals. For the arrival terminal, vehicles will have to take the road behind the ticketing counter. Both terminals now have separate exit gates.

Initially, this arrangement was on an experimental basis. Following its success, the authority has okayed it and closed the 50 m road on the airport premises. This has not only ended the traffic chaos, but has also freed the road in front of the terminal for free movement of passengers, who visit the ticketing counters in the block opposite the terminals.

According to airport officials, the number of flights and passengers has been increasing at the airport. The AAI conducted many experiments for smooth flow of traffic in front of the terminals. However, the situation remained the same during the peak hours. The authority then decided to close the 50 m road.

Now, a vehicle has to drop passengers in front of the departure terminal number one and move toward the exit gate number one. The vehicles, which pick passengers from the arrival terminal, will take the road behind the ticketing counter. These vehicles will move towards exit gate number two after picking up passengers.

“The number of air passengers is steadily increasing. We urgently needed to address the traffic situation. Earlier, there were talks of building an alternative route toward the airport. However, we hope the situation improves after the new arrangement,” said Ajay Kumar, Director, Pune Airport.

“There is a block for airline counters in front of the departure terminals. When passengers have any query regarding their flight or ticket, they rush to the ticket counters by crossing the 50 m road. There was a danger of mishap due to the continuous movement of vehicles on this road. Moreover, some drivers used to park their vehicles on the 50-m road for a long time, adding to the chaos. Now, passengers can move freely from the terminals to the ticketing counters,” said the official.