K. Anand president of Dakshina Kannada District Taximen's and Maxicab Association addressing a press conference in Mangaluru on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH
Accusing the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) of not providing tourist taxis and maxi cabs with the 10-minute free pick-up and drop facility that is extended to private vehicles, the Dakshina Kannada Taximen’s and Maxi Cab Association will hold a protest in Kavoor, Mangaluru, on Tuesday.Speaking to reporters on Saturday, association president K. Ananda said private vehicles are allowed free pick-up and drop facilities for 10 minutes and are charged ₹100 if the time limit exceeds. He alleged that tourist taxis and maxi cabs are not being given the same free pick-up and drop facility. Instead, taxis are charged ₹180, while maxi cabs are charged between ₹500 and ₹600.“Passengers travelling by our vehicles are unnecessarily being burdened. Despite representations made by us, the airport authorities have failed to extend the free pick-up and drop facility to taxis and maxi cabs,” he alleged.While private vehicles can pay parking charges through FASTag, taxis and maxi cabs are denied the facility and forced to use UPI apps, he said. They are also not given the option to pay in cash. He alleged that allowing private vehicles in the lane earmarked for taxis at the exit gates was causing congestion.To press for their demands, the association will stage a protest in Kavoor on August 4. “We do not want to cause hardship to airport commuters, so we are staging the protest near Kavoor junction,” Mr. Ananda said.Tariff not applied selectivelyIn a statement, MIA said the airport levies approved tariffs and that they are not applied selectively to any one class of vehicles, as alleged by the association.An airport spokesperson said the pick-up and drop policy applies uniformly across all commercial four-wheelers and is not designed to single out traditional operators. As in every major Indian airport, Mangaluru airport provides a 10-minute complimentary window for drop. After that, time-based charges apply to manage traffic flow, prevent congestion at the terminal landside and keep the kerbside moving for all passengers.The 10-minute complimentary window for dropping passengers by taxis and other commercial vehicles has been in practice at Mangaluru airport, the spokesperson said. However, picking up passengers is treated as a commercial operation and charged accordingly.The digital and FASTag-based payment system at the exit toll gates was introduced to reduce manual cash handling, cut queuing time at the boom barriers and close loopholes that have historically enabled overcharging by intermediaries. This has been applied equally to all vehicle categories, the statement said. MIA will work with the association to ensure that drivers unfamiliar with digital payment are not disadvantaged.The MIA spokesperson said the airport operator’s ground transport staff would be available to guide taxis to designated exit lanes reserved for them and ensure that private vehicles do not block them. The airport has increased the number of exit lanes to six from four earlier, and taxis can use any five of them. One exit lane is reserved for two-wheelers.Traditional taxi and maxi cab operators are an integral part of the passenger experience at MIA. The airport has no interest in diminishing their livelihood, the spokesperson said, adding that the charges are for the use of airport infrastructure, the spokesperson added. Published - August 01, 2026 07:48 pm IST
