Volvo bookings shoot up after city airport shuts down for repair work

CHANDIGARH: With Chandigarh International Airport being shut downfrom May 12 to May 31, city residents have been left with no option but to look for alternate means of travelling. The airport closure has boosted the number of bookings of buses, trains and taxis. The air travellers are depserately looking for means to reach the nearest possible airport which is Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
Air travellers are desperately looking for means to reach the nearest possible airport, which is Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, in the absence of flights from Chandigarh

Haryana Roadways, Sector 17C, Chandigarh officials said the occupancy of volvos have reached almost 100% for Delhi. Roadways authorities claimed that not even a single seat is available till 11am on Wednesday.

The number of bookings for other cities haven’t increased much as and when compared with that for Delhi. Long queues can be seen for volvo bookings at the bus station. The number of volvos are less in comparision to their rising demand. Niyati Mehta, who with her family was standing outside the Sector 17 bus stand, said, “Due to repair work going on at the airport, we have to take a volvo from Chandigarh to Delhi with our destination being Mumbai. After airways, we find travelling by volvo more comfortable in comparison to car or train.”

Many city residents have started opting for mobile cab services too. Owing to the airport closure, private taxis have also introduced certain discounts and round trip offers especially from Chandigarh to Delhi. These fares start at Rs 2,399 for a one-way trip from Chandigarh to Delhi. AC cabs and a wide range of cars like Hatchbacks, Sedans and SUVs have been made available for the convenience of the customers.

A spokesperson from a taxi-hailing company talking about the increase in the number of bookings said, “We have seen an increase in our bookings since the airport shut down. Ola cabs seem to have become the preferred choice of the people of Chandigarh.”

Varnika Marthur, who recently travelled from Chandigarh to Delhi via a cab, said, “I work in Delhi. So I frequently take flights back and forth from Delhi to Chandigarh. This time due to the airport closure, I booked a cab back to Delhi. The experience was pretty nice and I am thinking of taking a cab more often instead of travelling by air.”

As a precautionary step to deal with the rush, the railway authorities had already introduced two coaches in the afternoon Shatabdi Express. “The occupancy of the coaches has not increased to a great extent but since vacation time is approaching, we might face large number of bookings. With the addition of new coaches we are prepared to deal with the increase in crowd,” said a railway official.

The Chandigarh International Airport shall remain closed from May 12 to May 31. During this time period the airport runway will be undergoing repairs due to which no civil or military flights will be operating .