Car park drop off fee causes gridlock
07.07.09
Passengers taking flights from Luton Airport should allow plenty of time to reach the terminal this summer - while problems with the new 'access plan' - which includes a £1 drop-off levy - are ironed out.
The £1 ‘kiss and drop’ fee, a charge paid by drivers who drop off passengers in the car park nearest the terminal, was introduced on July 1, and is reported to be 'not running smoothly.' The Times reports that it caused gridlock on the approach road last week, just as we predicted before it was introduced.
As taxis and private cars slowed to a crawl, passengers got out of the vehicles and walked to the terminal to make their flights. One driver, quoted by the newspaper, said: ‘It was s six in the morning on a weekday in term-time. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when the schools break up? Thousands of people are going to miss flights.’
The airport’s management admitted that it could take between one and six months for the new scheme to bed in and the congestion to ease. A spokesman said: ‘We’re doing everything we can to persuade the public to decide where they want to drop off before reaching the terminal. We’ve got a lot of signposts up and there’s information all over our website.’
The sooner the airport sees sense and withdraws the fee, the better.
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