Money Grabbing at SOTON

[Widger]

I haven't been to SOTON for some time but, I went to pick up a colleague from the airport on Friday to find that the pick up point has been moved into the short stay Car Park.

The woman moving the cars along, stated that it was for security reasons.

What utter claptrap, you now have to pay £1.50 just to pick people up from the airport. I know that airports need to maximise non-airline revenue to make up for Lo-Co operators but, this really got my goat.

Spent 30 minutes driving up and down the road waiting for my neighbour.

Even at Heathrow you can pick up from the front of the terminal, and that place has a much greater security risk than SOTON.

[Traffic Magnet]

Tip;

Pick people up from outside Parkway rail station.

Walk out the airport terminal, turn left and go across the footbridge and out through the station.

It's often OK to find a space there to wait.

[Oshkosh George]

Spent 30 minutes driving up and down the road waiting for my neighbour.

So how much does 30 minutes driving cost,is it LESS than £1.50?

[almost professional]

DETR are requiring some airports to close off pickup/set down areas at the terminal front-it happened to NEMA-but we allow 30mins free in the short term to compensate, am suprised that Southampton do not do the same, but then they are BAA!

[WHBM]

DETR are requiring some airports to close off pickup/set down areas at the terminal front
Whatever serious security purpose does this serve ?

[almost professional]

Dunno-but if they say jump you ask how high!

[Nakata77]

sounds bad that they are charging for pick up but i'm sure you get ten minutes free in the short stay car-park. (if you can find a space and collect your loved ones in time that might be an alternative!)

Otherwise come to BOURNEMOUTH! We don't do that to people here...

[BALIX]

PIK is the same I'm afraid. You can't even do the driving around bit. Well you can, but when your PAX emerge from the terminal you will be holding the traffic up as they load - there is only one lane and nowhere to overtake. Anyone behind you would be justified in using some choice expletives.

They do let you use the short term car park for a less than generous ten minutes for nowt, though. And you can put the ticket straight into the barrier slot, you don't have to use the pay station.

Mind you, come the G8 summit, you will probably have to drop your PAX, and pick em up again, in Glasgow...

[parttimer]

whilst i'm not sticking up for baa you do get 20 mins free parking and designated parking spaces for pickup in the short stay. It did used to be a nightmare with everyone picking/dropping off out the front of the terminal. Whilst lhr does have a large space for this trying to get all the cars round the small approach used to get very busy at sou.
As previously stated train station is a winner and its free at weekends...

[LTNman]

Luton tried moving the drop off / pick up point to the short term car park with a 10 minute free period after the barrier to the drop off zone could not cope with the amount of traffic that comes to LTN these days. The move lasted just one week as Joe Public were having none of it and starting using the roundabout by the terminal as the new drop off / pick up point. Now it is back to the old location but the barrier has been taken out of service.

[Gaza]

30 minutes driving to save £1.50. :sad: :sad: :sad:

You are still allowed to drop off at SOU but as others have said you have to enter the multi-storey to pick people up. The first 15 or 20 minutes are free.

[CentreFix25]

Same thing at NCL, front of the terminal closed to everything but taxis and busses. A new mini drop off area was created, first 15 mins free then crazy prices after that. An article in the local press couple months ago said an old bloke and his wife parked here and went on holiday for couple of weeks, on returning put ticket in machine and was charged £1500. Think they would have given him the benefit of doubt, but he was driving a new Jag, so they didnt.