Airport drop off fees

[bingofuel]

I have just read the following on the BBC website regarding Glasgow airport joining the list of UK airport operators profiteering with their unique status.

Drivers dropping passengers off at the airport will now have to pay £2 for a stay of up to 10 minutes.
A new pick-up and drop-off point opposite the main terminal building has been opened with the old area at Caledonian Way West closing.
The airport said the new facility was the final stage of a wider scheme of works to reduce congestion around the airport's road network.
A pick-up fee has been in place at the airport since 2010.
Blue badge holders will be exempt from the new drop-off charges, which came into force at 03:00 on Thursday.
Drivers who use the drop-off area for longer than 10 minutes will have to pay more, with a £30 charge for a 60-minute wait.
The airport said the high charges were to discourage drivers from using the area for extended periods.
A free pick-up and drop-off area located in the long stay car park, with a shuttle bus to and from the main terminal, will still be available.

Do others agree with me that this is a blatant rip off by Glasgow airport charging drivers to come to the airport to drop off or collect the airport customers? I wonder how the airport would cope if all passengers decided to use the 'free drop off point' and then used the car park shuttle bus to get to the terminal. I suspect it would cause chaos.

Is this a UK thing or is it widespread througout the world? Maybe airports should be operated by the State and then private Companies could build and operate the terminals and see which of them can attract the airlines and customers by providing the best service to the consumer?

[ATNotts]

Originally Posted by bingofuel

I have just read the following on the BBC website regarding Glasgow airport joining the list of UK airport operators profiteering with their unique status.



Do others agree with me that this is a blatant rip off by Glasgow airport charging drivers to come to the airport to drop off or collect the airport customers? I wonder how the airport would cope if all passengers decided to use the 'free drop off point' and then used the car park shuttle bus to get to the terminal. I suspect it would cause chaos.

Is this a UK thing or is it widespread througout the world? Maybe airports should be operated by the State and then private Companies could build and operate the terminals and see which of them can attract the airlines and customers by providing the best service to the consumer?

Lucky Glasgow airport users! At EMA it's also £2.00 for 10 minutes, then some extortionate rate per minute over that, with no free alternative.

Is it a UK thing? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it were, we do, after all live in "rip off Britain"!

Perhaps this thread ought to move to SLF?

[NRU74]

It is a blatant rip off but...
There is free parking both at Glasgow and at EMA for drop offs and pick ups.
There was a woman moaning in the Business Section of the Sunday Times last weekend saying how badly she'd been ripped off at Luton when she'd gone to pick up her son.Luton offers two hours free in the long stay and I think c30 mins in the Mid Term. It's abit inconvenient and you have to use the Shuttle bus, but I'm afraid that's the way things are. The trick really to minimise cost on pick ups is to drive around and find where the taxi drivers are parked waiting for their clients to phone them and park there and await the call.
Incidentally I'm just an ordinary punter.

[ATNotts]

Hadn't realised there was any free parking at EMA. Above posting prompted me to look, and yes 1 hour free in Long Stay 4, a 5 minute bus ride from the terminal - subject to space being available. Still a way away from the terminal and very inconvenient.

But I suppose anything is better than nothing.

[El Bunto]

to reduce congestion around the airport's road network.

... by shunting the congestion onto the neighbouring public roads.

Approaching either Belfast airport one passes a queue of waiting-but-not-really-parked vehicles loitering along the roadside, outside Ikea being a favourite for the City airport. But the airports are onto a double-winner, reduced congestion on their premises AND money in the pot! Lovely.

[paully]

The Downside of airports filling with loco carriers reluctant to pay increased landing charges, so the airports look to revenue raising in ways like this..an irritant yes but in the grand scheme of things not really a deal breaker..

[whitelighter]

People won't pay much to fly, so airline won't pay to operate at the airport. If you want £1bn airport infrastructure you're going to have to pay somewhere.

[ATNotts]

Originally Posted by paully

The Downside of airports filling with loco carriers reluctant to pay increased landing charges, so the airports look to revenue raising in ways like this..an irritant yes but in the grand scheme of things not really a deal breaker..

That is very true, and the problem is more acute at airports such as EMA and LTN where passenger traffic is dominated by the likes of Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz.

Airports such as MAN, GLA and BHX which have a better mix ought not to have quite the same imperative, but will jump on the money making cash cow that is pick up and drop off anyway.

[bingofuel]

I think my main issue with the fee is that unlike say, a shopping centre, you cannot take your custom elsewhere, as the airport is the sole provider of air travel facilities in an area, so they have a monopoly and no competition. It is legalised extortion, but the world is run by the greedy looking for short term gain.
What happened to a fair price for a good service?

[ATNotts]

That isn't strictly true. There are other ways of getting to an airport. Bus or coach, most major airports have decent bus services, often using vehicles modified to take passenger's baggage. Rail (not Glasgow); many airports, including LGW, MAN and BHX have excellent rail connections, especially BHX.

There are ways around the drop off charges at most airports. Top tip for BHX is to drop off at International Station, and your passengers can take the free overhead rail shuttle to the terminal. Dead easy! And there is a free short stay drop off car park at the station too.

[LTNman]

Do others agree with me that this is a blatant rip off

No it is not a rip off, it is just moving a hidden revenue stream by charging airlines less in passenger fees, who then charge less for the airline ticket.

What you are actually complaining about is that the fee is not hidden and is in your face. If the fee was just added to the ticket price everyone would be happy but the fee would still have been paid.

Also as already pointed out, drivers will sit in a drop off zone indefinitely while waiting to pick up passengers if they can. Luton used to have a real problem where all the kerbsides were occupied by long stayers. That problem no longer happens.

[sdh2903]

Originally Posted by LTNman

Also as already pointed out, drivers will sit in a drop off zone indefinitely while waiting to pick up passengers if they can. Luton used to have a real problem where all the kerbsides were occupied by long stayers. That problem no longer happens.

This is exactly the point. The people using Glasgow have brought this on themselves. People sitting at the drop off area waiting for people for a silly amount of time. Double,triple and quadruple parking whilst dropping off blocking both lanes. No where near as bad as at Luton but the traffic is untenable at peak times.

If people were sensible and waited off airport until their pickups were actually outside then the problem wouldn't exist. I heard from someone at the airport involved in the traffic project, that the charged area was a last resort and they had tried everything else to manage the traffic flow.

[A350Saltire]

GLA has an ok bus service and no other way of getting to / from the airport other than by car or taxi so whilst they are charging to drop off, they haven't really improved the alternative transport options. They really need a rail connection and improved bus services.

[Hotel Tango]

No it is not a rip off

Yes, it is a rip off! Passengers should be allowed to be dropped off or collected close to the terminal area free of charge. I understand and agree that charges should apply over a certain period of time in order to avoid drivers extending their waiting time. However, a quick drop off or pick up should NOT be subject to any charge. BHX for example charge a pound for 10 minutes. Go over that by a minute and you need a mortgage! That's not a service, that's a simple cash cow, which conveniently fell into their lap after the Glasgow incident years ago. It's nothing less than pure GREED to top up the coffers and pay for the annual bonuses! Indeed, there are alternatives at BHX, and I use them. But there's a principle in this. Major European airports continue to allow drop off and pick up right outside the terminal - at no cost. Rant over, maybe!

[LTNman]

BHX for example charge a pound for 10 minutes. Go over that by a minute and you need a mortgage! That's not a service, that's a simple cash cow

Have you not read the above posts. A charge by the minute is to stop drivers blocking the drop off area with extended stays. The clue is in the name, DROP OFF, PICK UP nowhere does it say car park.

I would be interested in your proposal to keep the traffic flowing?

[Hotel Tango]

@ LTNman

Have you read my post?

Allow vehicles into the drop off area free of charge and charge if their stay extends say beyond 15 minutes. The area at BHX is large enough and the traffic will flow even better than it does now! Tell me, how do major airports such as Schiphol, Dusseldorf, Brussels continue to allow terminal drop off without any congestion? I know the answer but I'll let you work it out. If you're defending the need to charge for a simple drop off then you must be working in airport management.

Edit: Sorry, I should say UK airport management!

[ATNotts]

Originally Posted by Hotel Tango

@ LTNman

Have you read my post?

Allow vehicles into the drop off area free of charge and charge if their stay extends say beyond 15 minutes. The area at BHX is large enough and the traffic will flow even better than it does now! Tell me, how do major airports such as Schiphol, Dusseldorf, Brussels continue to allow terminal drop off without any congestion? I know the answer but I'll let you work it out. If you're defending the need to charge for a simple drop off then you must be working in airport management.

Edit: Sorry, I should say UK airport management!

The problem that exists in UK is twofold.

First, privatised airports that are there to make profits for shareholders, be they Canadian pension funds or Spanish quasi-private airport operators. Most airports in Europe still tend to be state or local government operated or controlled.

Second, the UK mantra "security is paramount". Simply because a pair of incompetent terrorists tried to drive through the terminal doors as Glasgow, HMG government over reacted, as usual, and gave the airport operators the golden opportunity that you describe above.

[BRUpax]

As a user of Birmingham I have to say I challenge the idea that their system keeps traffic flowing. Because of the one pound charge all drivers have to exit their vehicle and queue at the pay machines. During peak periods this can lead to drivers overrunning their time and having to pay substantially more. With a ticketed but free 10 minute period the traffic would flow much more efficiently. If my memory serves me right I do believe that was how it started at Brum - until they came to the conclusion that they were missing out on a fat cash cow potential! I'm voting rip-off

[VC10man]

I feel the airports are missing a trick, surely they should charge diesel cars £12 more for a drop off.

I hate having to get out and queue at a machine at BHX and I hate having to pay £2 to stop for less than a minute to drop off at EMA. I used to drop people off at the roundabout at departures, but the EMA Gestapo have stopped this.

[ZOOKER]

That's because EMA is run by the same bandits who run Manchester.