Lockdown effect: 30% spike in those flying out of Bengaluru

Taking off

Lockdown restrictions in the city triggered an unprecedented rush of passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday morning. Airport taxis reported an estimated 30% rise in trips compared to the last few days, an indication that the passengers had booked outbound flights in big numbers before restrictions came into effect.

By afternoon, the passenger crowds at the airport had thinned. However, airport sources informed that a majority of the scheduled flights operated with full capacity. The state government had allowed flights already scheduled but banned arrivals and departures of any new services during the lockdown.

Airport sources said only those with booked tickets were allowed to travel, and no fresh tickets were sold at KIA. “Today’s rush was because people arrived well ahead of time to manage the curfew situation,” said a spokesperson.

“Compared to the last two to three days, those going to Chennai and North Indian cities have increased. Trips of people to the airport with air tickets have gone up. The cars are being stopped by the police enroute to the airport, and passengers are asked to produce their tickets,” Hameed Akbar Ali told DH on behalf of about 2,000 airport taxis. Ever since domestic flights resumed operations on May 25, the taxis have been back in business. But the trips they got were nowhere near the pre-Covid numbers.

“Till two days ago, the cabs had to wait for 24-36 hours at the parking lot to get a trip. But today, since incoming flight passenger numbers have also gone up, the waiting time reduced to six to eight hours,” Ali informed.

Besides the airport taxis, Ola and Uber cabs and BMTC Vayu Vajra buses were also operating on Wednesday.

Only two passengers were allowed in a cab, implying families with more than two members had to engage multiple taxis. Social-distancing norms were also followed inside the buses with ACs switched off.

Passengers who were unsure of the commute options to and from the airport took to social media to pose questions to the city traffic police, KIA, and government departments.

One of them, Satya Mahesh had booked an Uber cab for an early Sunday morning flight. He had scheduled a cab pickup from his house at 3.15 am to catch a flight at 6.49 am.

To his query on cab availability, Uber clarified that due to the lockdown guidelines, its services would be unavailable on Sundays until further notice.