Up to £5 to drop someone at the airport
01.01.09
Drivers are increasingly being charged for dropping off relatives at airports, the Daily Mail reports. Set-down lanes outside terminal doors are rapidly being replaced by designated parking areas, according to research by the newspaper.
Airports have justified the demise of drop-off lanes as a necessary precaution against terror attack. But new charges mean that stopping for as little as 15 minutes can cost £5 because few airports offer more than ten minutes of free parking. Birmingham Airport provides no free facility at all. Instead, its 'rapid drop-off' costs £1 for the first 20 minutes and £3 for every 15 minutes thereafter.
Hugh Bladon, of the Association of British Drivers, described the situation at Birmingham Airport as absurd. He told the newspaper: 'It's over the top and sounds like they're taking advantage of the situation with the motorist an easy target to make a bit more money.'
At Liverpool, which recently cut the spaces in its drop off car park from 450 to 100, offers the first ten minutes free, but each additional ten minutes costs £2. Newcastle airport offers up to five minutes free, then charges £1 for stays of up to 20 minutes, £1.50 for stays of 20 to 25 minutes and £2 for stays of 25 to 30 minutes.
However at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester, dropping off is still available near the terminal remains free. Glasgow airport has created a covered pick-up and drop-off zone opposite the main terminal following the failed terror attack in June 2007 - the reason other UK airports are using to justify their new arrangements. The first ten minutes in the facility are without charge.
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