A new toll booth system for vehicular movement and parking started at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport from Wednesday.

Under the new system, vehicles would enter from the eastern gate on Peer Ali Marg, commonly known as Airport Road, and get the parking ticket issued at a kiosk in front of state hangar.

A car has to pay parking charges, however, at the time of exit. No parking fees would be charged if the vehicle exits from the airport within 10 minutes from the time of entry.

"Bhagalpur-based firm Amazing India operates the new parking system, including the kiosks. Only one-way vehicular movement is allowed under the new system wherein vehicles enter from the eastern gate on Airport Road and exit from the western gate. The district administration has also been requested to make the required changes in traffic signals at the road intersection at western gate," said a senior official at Patna airport.

Vehicles are being parked in two new parking bays - one, in front of state hangar and the other, beside Patna meteorological centre observatory. Around 150 vehicles can be parked in front of the state hangar and another 300 vehicles can be parked beside the Met office. The airport authority is allowing parking in some part of the existing parking bay till the new parking system functions without any hitch. Airports Authority of India has already prohibited parking in the first four lanes of the existing parking bay because of security issues.

According to the security guidelines for aerodromes prescribed by International Civil Aviation Organisation, there should be a minimum distance of 100 metres between the airport terminal building and the parking area but in case of Patna airport it is even less than 50 metres.

Vehicles need to pay parking charge at the kiosk in front of Met office while leaving the airport. Both kiosks are fitted with closed-circuit television cameras, which take photographs of the vehicles entering and exiting the airport premise for the purpose of issuance of tickets and security. Tickets are scanned using bar code scanners at the exit kiosks.

Patna airport, marked as one of the most critical airports of the country because of its short runway, is spread over 52 acres. Sources at the airport claimed the terminal building is planned to be extended over the existing parking space as it is being freed from parking. Once the extended terminal building is ready, the counters of different airlines would be seen on the front lane of the existing parking area.