Picture this.
You're at the airport. Dropping off your elderly in-laws.
Luggage in the boot. Traffic crawling. A 100-metre stretch from gate to terminal.
You pull up. You unload. You walk grandma to the door.
And boom — your wheel is clamped.
💸 ₹500 fine.
That's exactly what happened to S. Sameer at Coimbatore International Airport on Monday.
His crime? Taking longer than 180 seconds.
Here's the deal at CJB right now:
Three minutes to navigate traffic, find a spot, pop the boot, haul suitcases, and walk a senior citizen safely inside.
Try it sometime. With your mother-in-law. And four bags.
Users want the free window stretched to 5 minutes. Not a lot. Just two extra minutes of basic humanity.
V. Swathi put it bluntly:
Families with kids, elderly parents, or multiple bags are being forced to rush — just to dodge a fine.
Sameer's ask is simple:
👉 "The three-minute limit is impractical, particularly for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and families travelling with luggage."
This is where it gets interesting.
India's bigger metros are loosening the leash. Coimbatore is still running the strictest stopwatch in the room.
Officials say the 3-minute rule isn't random.
It's calibrated for peak-hour traffic. Designed to stop the forecourt from turning into a parking lot.
Passenger convenience, they insist, remains the priority.
But try telling that to the guy whose wheel just got locked while helping his in-laws to the gate.
Airports were built to move people.
Not to punish the son-in-law carrying his mother-in-law's suitcase.
Two extra minutes won't break the system.
But they might just restore a little dignity to the drop-off lane.
That's all for now!
