Monsoons: Flying in? Book cabs in advance

Flyers arriving in Mumbai should book a cab before they land at Santa Cruz airport. The Friday showers led to the closure of pre-paid cab counters at the Santa Cruz terminal as cabs were stuck in the traffic jams and hence, were not available.

However, international flyers did not encounter this problem at Sahar as it has parking facility for 1,200 cabs unlike Santa Cruz which parks 350 vehicles.

When Anuj Kumar, 28, a resident of Mahim landed at Santa Cruz terminal of Mumbai airport on Friday at 7.30pm he spent a good 45 minutes looking for a cab.  As the pre-paid cab counter (PPCC) was shut, he had to walk for 2kms to the highway with his luggage to hire a taxi.  “Had I known this I would have asked my wife to book a fleet cab as there was no taxi available,” says Kumar.

Even Shweta Malhotra, 26, a finance executive from Goregaon agrees with Kumar.  “This will be really inconvenient for passengers.  If flights get delayed and arrive at the same time during peak hours, there will be a mad scramble for taxis,” said Malhotra. 

“Booking a cab in advance is a good option in such a rained out scenario,” she added. 

The spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) was unavailable for comment.