NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has entered into strategic alliances with Ola and Uber that will provide passengers the option to hire these cabs at select aerodromes.
As part of this strategic alliance, both Ola and Uber will fulfil commuting demand of passengers at the AAI-run Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar airports, a release said today. "This alliance with Ola and Uber shall also facilitate air passengers to book a cab through the booking kiosks located at the airport itself. This will reduce the hassle of waiting or moving out for such app-based cabs," the AAI said in the release.
AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said bringing in leading cab service aggregators like Ola and Uber is a move to ensure hassle-free commuting and offer better services to air travellers in the country. The AAI has always kept passengers' convenience at the centre of its functioning and is committed to giving the best possible experience to users at airports, he added.
An Ola spokesperson confirmed the development. "We are encouraged by the collaborative step from the AAI... With a first of its kind partnership in India with mass air transit infrastructure, we expect to cater to (needs of) visitors from over 70 countries that use Uber in India," Global Head of Business and Corporate Development at Uber David Richter said. A mini-ratna public sector enterprise, the AAI manages a total of 126 airports.