90% of passengers refuse to pay Liverpool Airport's £2 charge
10.10.07
9 out of 10 passengers travelling out of Liverpool Airport are refusing to pay a new £2 security charge. But despite the poor uptake and claims the charge has led to queues of up to an hour for those who decline the fast-track paying queue officials at claim the optional £2 tax has been well received.
The airport became the first in the country to introduce the charge, which entitles people to use a fast-track 'lane' through security, earlier this year, after the cost of implementing anti-terrorism measures rocketed. Tickets to the fast-lane are bought from machines dotted around the airport.
Initially the airport planned to make the charge compulsory for all passengers. But it opted for a voluntary system after a backlash from its main airlines Ryanair and easyJet. Had every passenger agreed to pay the charge, it would have received just under £6m this year. If the current trend continues, it will instead receive just under £600,000.
The airport's largest airline, easyJet, said the low take-up was proof that passengers did not want to pay extra, while rival Ryanair said it was 'monitoring the impact the two-tier security system had.'
Robin Tudor, the airport's spokesman, said: 'So far, about 10% of passengers travelling out of the airport have agreed to pay the £2 charge. It is entirely at each passenger's discretion whether they choose to pay the £2 charge, and from our point of view, it is a case of every penny counts towards the extra cost of security.'
'Liverpool is the first UK airport to introduce this type of scheme, and it is believed that many other airport operators may consider adopting a similar product. Initial passenger feedback has been very positive and any negative impact on passenger flows from landside to airside areas will continue to be monitored over the coming weeks.'
The only feedback we have had from readers travelling through the airport has been positive, with one reader saying she would gladly pay £2 to cut the queues at other UK airports.
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