Lockdown leads to 6,125-yuan airport parking fee

The owner of a car stranded in the Terminal 1 parking area of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport for almost two months, due to the citywide COVID-19 pandemic lockdown since April 1, was hit with a 6,125-yuan (US$917) parking charge when the vehicle was driven away on Tuesday, Eastday.com reported on Wednesday.

The receipt, which has gone viral online, showed that the car entered the parking lot around 10:26am on March 29 and left at 4:53pm on May 24.

A staff member of the parking lot, however, said that part of the fees will be exempted for those car owners whose vehicles were put in limbo due to the pandemic control measures.

Car owners will be charged first and refunded later, once specific policy guidelines are released, the staffer told Eastday.com.

However, staff at the city's large shopping malls such as the Grand Gateway 66 in Xuhui District and Taikoo Li Qiantan in the Pudong New Area said they haven't received any notice on parking-fee deductions yet and are currently charging normal rates, the report said.