Chaos erupted this afternoon at the City Trade Center (GTC) as citizens found themselves trapped in the underground parking garage due to a widespread malfunction of the payment system. Disturbed individuals contacted news outlets, reporting being “trapped” for up to two hours.

The primary cause of the disruption was the failure of parking meters and the absence of payment service personnel. Previously manned payment counters were replaced with signs directing customers to use payment machines, but only one machine was reportedly operational, causing significant delays and long queues.

The situation caused considerable distress, with some citizens accompanied by small children and others expressing concern about missing flights due to the unforeseen delay.

Eventually, authorities raised the parking garage ramps, allowing vehicles to exit without payment. However, the sheer volume of cars exiting, coupled with an external traffic light, meant the process was still slow and time-consuming.

As of now, GTC has not released an official statement explaining the cause of the payment system malfunction. This incident follows a price increase in February of the previous year, when parking fees rose from 50 to 70 denars.