Airport Fees

[Rollingthunder]

Machine glitch delays airport fee

Newquay passengers will pay the surcharge at new ticket machines
Plans to implement an extra £5 departure fee at Newquay Airport have had to be put on hold.
It should have started on Saturday, but the airport said machines to collect the fee were not working properly.

The £5 surcharge is being imposed at Newquay Airport by Cornwall County Council to help reduce a deficit of more than £1m a year.

Managers say the machines will not be operating until the early part of next week at the earliest.

Adults flying out of Newquay from Saturday were meant to be paying the extra £5, using machines which have been installed in the check-in area.

The airport said it would be taking the matter up with the makers of the machines.

The fee is the first to be introduced at a UK airport.



bbc


So Why have I been paying 20GBP to get out of LHR for god knows how long?

[niknak]

I'm not sure it is the first time it's happened, but it may well be the first time that any airport has been so up front about it.

Usually, you will pay these sort of fees as part of your ticket price and be none the wiser unless you take the trouble to break down the prices.

Personally I congratulate authorities for their honesty, why should the council tax payers have to subsidise the airport operation any further?

Even for a "low cost" operation, £5 is nothing, especially when the only option is a very long and expensive train jouney, or a very long car/bus ride.

[GROUNDHOG]

Totally agree with the above, the local press has lambasted the Council for charging this fee and of course Ryanair have taken the usual stance but I haven't heard of too many complaints from Monarch, Air Southwest or Skybus.

They are quite within their rights and there is nothing new about airports charging ' departure tax, security fee, handling surcharge, apron fees call them what you will it all amounts to covering the cost.

I do think though the Council have rather shot themselves in the foot in the way they introduced this additional charge and should probably just have bought in or increased another charge on pax carried rather than put a ticket machine in the airport!

They might be very good at some things but running an airport is not high on that list!

[Scottie Dog]

Definately not the first time that airports have charged fees direct to the public in the UK.

I well remember - I have a thick skin, so must have the memory of an elephant!! - that Manchester use to charge a fee of 7/6 in old money back in the late '60s. You either paid at the airline's ticket office, or could pre-pay by having a voucher put on your travel document when you purchased your ticket.

Perhaps somebody would convert that into modern day values (7/6 was the equivalent of 35.5p in decimal currency - allowing for inflation how many pounds would that have been now?

Scottie Dog - with more grey hair then he wishes to think about

[LUCEYMURRAY]

WELL I THINK THIS AIRPORT TAXS SUCKS
YET ANOTHER STELTH TAX FOR THE PUNTERS
DID ANY BODY FROM THE COUNCIL THINK ABOUT TESTING THE MACHINE FIRST ? WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED

[GOLF-INDIA BRAVO]

Not exactly a stealth tax as they have made it very public unlike some other airports

G-I-B

[LUCEYMURRAY]

WHO TO THEM SELF'S (THE COUNCIL) LOCAL PAPERS WEST BRITON ETC ETC. THE NEWQUAY AIRPORT WEBSITE ?

[WHBM]

I well remember - I have a thick skin, so must have the memory of an elephant!! - that Manchester use to charge a fee of 7/6 in old money back in the late '60s.
I'm obviously almost but not quite so old - I recall my parents having to pay 50p (10/- in your terms) at a Manchester check-in desk in 1971.

I've also come across travel by ferry to the Scottish islands where you are charged a "pier fees" amount in addition to the actual ferry ticket.

The thing about airport fees collected by the carrier is that airlines pass on an amount that bears no relation to what is actually charged. Quite likely if the Newquay £5 was done via the airline Ryanair would recharge passengers at £11.70 or similar.

[charterguy]

I think it is just a case of airports getting p1ssed off with receiving little or no airport taxes from Ryanair, yet Ryanair quite happily collects (and bags) the full amount of taxes from the pax.

I hope other airports will follow Newquay's lead. If this model is rolled out universally, pax could be asked to pay all the airport taxes directly to the airport, preventing Ryanair and other locos from embezzling these taxes ! Then lets see if FR are still able to market seats for 1p (plus taxes - payable to the airport) :ok:

CG

[TheOddOne]

I really HATE these mostly unexpected taxes. We encountered this at Vancouver a couple of years ago - not allowed through until you'd been to the ATM & got out the cash. Really spoilt our experience at YVR.

I'd forgotten all about this until I went to check in at Waterford this year - couldn't get a boarding card 'til I'd handed over the dosh. Really riled me, I can tell you. It's not the amount of money, but the way in which it's done which I find so annoying.

Now, having said that, we come to certain locos. We can't say for certain, but there is the suspicion that they won't be completely transparent about promptly passing on all the money garnered in the name of airport tax. I believe that the exception might be easyJet, who, in my experience, only charge what they are required to, i.e. my fare to ORK last week, £9.99 + £5 tax, ALL I paid was £14.99. Completely honest.

Maybe I've changed my mind a little about the way these taxes are collected...

The Odd One

[pwalhx]

Lucey

Firstly you don't need to type in capital letters.

Secondly I live in the North and have seen the news of the departure tax on TV up here so it is hardly local. I see no evidence of them shying away or trying to hide the news as you suggest.

I agree with others Newquay are being lambasted for being open when they should be applauded.