By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 27: In what can be termed as good news, passenger movement in Shillong Airport, which remained dormant for decades, is now increasing with every passing day thanks to the several flights that now connect land-locked Meghalaya with other Northeastern states.
Furthermore, the Shillong Airport hosted the highest-ever 547 number of passengers arriving and departing from the airport on Monday. The number of arrivals was 292 while a total of 255 people departed on the day.
Earlier, on December 20, a total of 503 passengers were entertained at the airport.
Lately, the lone functional airport in Meghalaya has been witnessing an impressive footfall following the addition of many flights, as in November. A total of 8,533 passengers chose to travel from this airport during the month of November.
However, there are several logistics issues, which burn a hole in the flyers’ pockets, as the taxis charge huge amount to carry passengers to and fro the airport.
The commercial taxis are reportedly charging Rs 1,500-2,000 for ferrying passengers from the capital to the airport and vice versa, and on some occasions, the cost of travelling from Shillong to the airport is more than the cost of the flight tickets.
Sources said that there will be attempts to resolve the matter amicably by holding discussions with the Airports Authority of India, district administration and taxi unions of the area.
The Shillong Airport, as of now, does not have the facility of prepaid taxi and the issue is expected to be taken up shortly.
Also, there is no direct bus service from Shillong to the airport as of now, which would have cost much lesser than what is being charged at present.