The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has removed restrictions on vehicles using FASTag at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3 in New Delhi, following a complaint about entry rules for the departure lanes.

The complaint was raised by former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar. In a post on X on October 13, Kumar said vehicles carrying an annual FASTag pass were being prevented from entering the departure lanes unless their main FASTag account had a balance.

According to Kumar’s account, vehicles without the required balance were being directed to the airport parking area. He also said the process had been introduced without prior notice or an explanation, and asked NHAI and the Airports Authority of India to intervene.

Indian Highways Management Company, which manages FASTag, responded that the payment instrument was intended for parking facilities at airports and could not be used to enforce entry restrictions. The company said the matter had been taken up and that the relevant bank had been directed to discontinue the restrictions.

NHAI said on October 15 that it had taken up the matter with relevant stakeholders to address the inconvenience faced by commuters. Following the intervention of the concerned authorities, restrictions on FASTag-equipped vehicles at Terminal 3 were removed, the authority said.

FASTag is an electronic toll collection system used on national highways and for certain parking payments. The issue at Delhi Airport involved the use of annual FASTag passes and the requirement for vehicles to maintain a separate balance in the main account for access to the departure lanes.