Pune: AeroMall authorities of the city airport, in coordination with cab aggregator company Uber, are planning to set up a lounge for flyers at the first floor pick-up point, where the facility of zero waiting is already provided if one books a ride. However, flyers pointed out that this move doesn’t make sense to them. Many said that the waiting time is actually much longer at the second floor pickup point, where cabs are booked in a regular manner. This spot, they said, actually needs a lounge more to provide relief to waiting flyers. They further flagged that regular pickups are fraught with long delays and trip cancellations, which they have repeatedly raised with officials to no avail. Speaking about the decision, AeroMall vice-president YS Rajput said the lounge aims to ease the outgoing period of flyers from the premises. “Talks are on regarding this. The lounge will provide some facilities like drinking water and air-conditioned settings for flyers,” he told TOI. Cab services including Uber, Ola and Rapido are available at the AeroMall for flyers looking to exit the campus. On the first floor, cabs from Uber’s premier segments, which come at a higher fare, are available with zero-waiting time. On the second floor, one has to book a cab via the app in a regular manner and then wait for the cabbie to arrive. Adrish Pandey, a Vimannagar resident and frequent flyer, told TOI, “Isn’t it strange that they are talking about setting up a waiting lounge on the first floor where flyers don’t have to wait for cabs at all? The lounge, if at all it is being set up, should come on the second floor where a majority of flyers wait, sometimes for more than 30 minutes amid the crowd, fumes and noise.” Besides the lounge proposal, Rajput said there is also a plan to set up another help desk at the AeroMall entrance. “This help desk will come up at the point where buses drop off arriving flyers. New flyers, after getting off the bus, don’t have any idea about the facilities and where to get cabs. The help desk will guide them,” he said. Further, AeroMall authorities are also coordinating with Pune traffic police to get CSR funds, so that AI-enabled CCTV cameras can be set up on roads leading to Pune airport. These will be similar to those set up on FC Road in the pilot programme to ensure better enforcement or traffic rules. “The plan is to set up 30-40 cameras among the Symbiosis College Road leading to the airport and on the New Airport Road,” Rajput informed.
