Originally Posted by
UnderASouthernSky
What chaos has it caused?
The T1 arrivals car park has certainly been chaotic when I've seen it whilst passing through over the last couple of weeks. Since they've completely outlawed (on pain of a £100 fine) pick ups from the forecourts, it is now completely clogged with taxis and other cars to the extent that they're queuing all the way round the car park back to the entrance and out on to the road. The result is traffic worse than it was before they introduced these changes.
I don't think at this point that anyone truly believes that the real goal is to reduce congestion. If they really thought the drop-off car park was to be a viable alternative, the bus service would be more frequent than every 15 minutes, and they would also allow its use for pick ups.
The charges introduced are something which would be more readily accepted by passengers were it not for the experience that greets them inside the airport. Day after day it's long queues for security, passport control (I know UKBF are responsible, but are MAN management truly powerless to do anything about what is a long-standing issue?), taxis on arrival and various other issues.
The excuses like one security lane out of service being the reason for the horrendous queues recently simply don't ring true. I'm a regular passenger through T1, and I can't remember the last time more than 75% of the lanes were open, let alone all of them. One of the lifts up to the T1 car park was out of service this morning, leaving that whole area packed to the gills with people queuing for the other two. I've just returned from being away for a few days, but was told by someone that it has been like that for over a week.
People can blame the airlines for the fees (or lack of) that they pay, but that comes down to what MAN management have agreed. Passenger numbers have grown by 40% in the last five years. That has unquestionably led to an increase in revenue for the airport, but it certainly isn't reflected in the passenger experience (unlike the dividends that are being paid out) at present. The new T2 project is very welcome but it's not a panacea. It almost feels like they've simply given up in the mean time and are willing to ride it out until T2 comes online, but that isn't going to solve issues of management.