Navi Mumbai Airport Is Closer, But Has A Long Way To Go
Navi Mumbai’s new airport is still testing passengers on the last mile.
The Gist
The newly inaugurated Navi Mumbai airport offers significant travel time savings but presents challenges in transportation and infrastructure.
- Traveling from Vashi to the new airport cuts journey time by 30 minutes compared to Vileparle.
- Upon arrival, passengers faced network issues, complicating cab bookings and leading to long wait times.
- Premium cab options emerged as the only viable choice, reflecting the airport's ongoing infrastructure development needs.
Little can give as much glee as an airport that comes closer to your home. As a resident of Vashi, the new Navi Mumbai airport cuts travel time by around 30 minutes compared to the Vileparle airport, which is more than an hour and a half away. During peak hours, it can increase to two hours. There were days when my point-to-point travel lasted over 12 hours, owing to bumper-to-bumper traffic and other hurdles.
Last week, when my husband had to board a flight from the newly inaugurated airport, I was beside myself when the cab company charged him only Rs 200 for the ride. That’s almost Rs 600-700 lower than what it would have cost to reach the Vileparle airport.
Network Jammed?
Later, when I landed in the same airport at around 8:30 am, I was comforted by the notion that I’d be home soon. However, the airport, shockingly, had little or no network, so we couldn’t book a cab on the app, as we waited for the luggage — something that is normal practice for most of us.
We had to reach the company cab area, and further chaos unfolded. There was a serpentine line of people waiting for cabs, all of whom had booked them a while ago. The representative of the cab company was assigning cabs for people after checking the ‘type’ of cab they booked. I saw this practice at the Hyderabad airport too, wherein one has to simply book the cab, which would be assigned as we walk to the line. I always thought it was a smoother process.
Premium Or Nothing
In Navi Mumbai, a new model seems to be taking shape. The company representative politely informed, “If you have booked a sedan, it will take a very long time. Only if you book the premium version can we assign it to you ahead of time.” Ironically, the premium pricing is almost as much as it would cost me to reach home from the Vileparle airport.
We had woken up at 3:30 am to be able to catch the flight from Chennai, and were on the verge of exhaustion. So I cancelled the sedan and booked a premium version. As I was being forced to do so, I was also toying with the idea of taking a bus. After all, all I had to do was reach anywhere near Belapur and then I could either take an auto or a cab.
Unlike Bengaluru and other airports, which have special buses to bring you to various points of the city – even the old Mumbai airport has them — I am yet to see that infrastructure in this airport. All they had was a city bus, which we could not board with luggage.
There is no fleet of taxis waiting for customers either. The airport is ready, but it doesn’t have enough flights/passengers for the odds to catch them, from a taxi perspective.
It’s not to say that app-driven cabs are easy in any airport. In most airports and railway stations, there is abject chaos. The wait time can be as long as 25-30 minutes. In Navi Mumbai airport, it wasn’t about time either; it’s the fear that there could be no other cab to take you far enough to Belapur or so far as to find another mode of transportation. I also saw no autos within the airport, though it would be a challenge to hail one with luggage.
The premium cabbie I eventually booked also informed us that he lives close by, in Ulwe, and hence it makes sense for him to pick up rides. As I boarded it, many others who booked minis and sedans were waiting, frustrated.
For app-weary customers, most airports also run a pre-paid taxi service, which is slightly costlier but also much more comfortable. That’s yet to make an entry at this airport. A few believe that the infrastructure on the road will pick up as the number of flights rise. For it to get even half as busy, it would take at least a year or so. And cabs will remain few, and far between.
Even within the airport, the number of eateries and other facilities is nowhere close to the other two airports of the city. I reckon they are a work-in-progress. Also, work is still going on around the airport, which indicates that it could soon become bigger and better – but it will take time.
Until then, even with a posh new airport and a well-promoted Atal Setu road to connect it, this new airport will remain what all airports always are — too expensive on the road, too expensive in the sky – and stressful on the common man’s pocket.
