Airport hotels blog

Edinburgh Airport are set to introduce their controversial fee this week despite continued pressure from Scottish Ministers and the general public to abandon the proposal. This Friday, 29th October 2010, all cars entering the airport to drop off or pick up passengers will be made to pay a £1 fee.

The initial proposal by airport operators BAA, a couple of months ago, was met with vehement opposition especially amongst Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers. MSP Gavin Brown lodged a parliamentay motion against the changes, but following the debate it was ruled the Scottish Government would not intervene, citing the influence of Edinburgh Airport to the local economy.

Members of the public, of whom 9000 signed Gavin Brown’s petiton, felt angered at the failure of the government to act in their interests. Last week, Lord Provest Lesley Hinds, encouraged the City Council to investigate the possibility of buying back the airport roads from BAA. If they were able to do so, they would not only be able to remove surcharges but also control the roads and the new tram service. However, at a cost of £150,000 a year it is fairly unlikely the council will be able to free up enough resources. The investigation continues.

Edinburgh are the latest of a number of UK airports to introduce a drop off charge. The previous airport to do so, Belfast International Airport, has incurred a number of unprecendented problems with the system. Many passengers, opposed to the drop off charges, have chosen to boycott the system by parking illegally on approach roads. The airport is now being forced to spend much of the £2 million it was set to make on the system, clearing up the problems it has created.

Have you been affected by new drop off measures at your local airport? Please share your experiences and opinions below.

A British Holidaymaker has discovered a Meet and Greet parking service at Luton Airport rented out his car when he was on holiday.

Dean Dolling, of Buckinghamshire, used Airparks valet service during a two week holiday in Cyprus. When he returned to his vehicle, he discovered rental documentation lying on the back seat.

At the time he complained to Airparks but they assured him his car had remained parked in their secure compound.

Later, he was contacted by an Australian tourist who told him he had rented his car and had began to suspect something was amiss as it was not an official car.

Should Have Taken The Bus...

Following this revelation, Mr Dolling again complained to the car parking operator who then offered him £500 in compensation, blaming system errors. It was not long before the BBC’s Watchdog got involved and Airparks upped their offer to £2,500.

It has been an unfortunate month for Airparks who were in the news earlier this month after another customer returned from his holiday to find his prized BMW written off. A private repair company assessed the damages at around £5000 and it was not until The Guardian got involved in proceedings that Airparks upped their offer from £850 to £1400 (the value of the car itself).

Other Meet and Greet services have also borne the brunt of similiar horror stories at Luton Airport.

In July this year, Andy and Nicola Halls left their car with another parking operator, only to be called hours later with the news their car had been crashed on the M23 by an uninsured, 18-year old employee.

BBC Watchdog will air their programme on rogue airport operators tonight, 21st October 2010, on BBC One at 8pm.

If you have had any other airport parking horror stories, please share your experiences in the comment box below…

“It’s the times we live in.”  That’s what the police said, as they threw a passenger in jail for joking about blowing up an airport on Twitter.  Paul Chambers was due to fly out of Robin Hood Airport in January, but a snowstorm had put his trip in jeopardy.  He tweeted to his 600 followers: “C**p!  Robin Hood Airport is closed.  You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s**t together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!”  His online friends clearly took these as the words of a frustrated passenger rather than a determined terrorist, but that’s not how the courts saw it. Chambers was convicted of sending a menacing message and ordered to pay £600 costs, a £385 fine and a £15 victim surcharge.  He also lost his job as a trainee accountant. No laughing matter.

So remember, a sense of humour isn’t welcome in an airport these days.  Here are my top tips to avoid creating your own ridiculous security scare.

1.    Don’t wear a T-shirt with a picture of a weapon on it.

You’ll be made to take it off.  That’s what happened to a friend of the stand up comic Russell Brand on a flight out of America.  The security staff took a strong line against the gun design on his T-shirt and refused to let him pass. As Russell says, it’s not quite clear where the danger lay.  “It’s a drawing of a gun; it’s not a real gun.  What did they think he was going to do?  Shoot Bugs Bunny? Execute Henry’s Cat?”

2.    Don’t hide a water pistol in your luggage.

It’ll be confiscated, even if it’s stuffed with sweeties rather than bullets.  A 6 year old girl had her bags seized at Cape Town when staff spotted a pink plastic water pistol on the security scan.  Kelly Vinnicombe and her mother had to register the super soaker as a firearm and have it checked by experts before she was allowed to return to Britain with her toy.

3.    Don’t travel with honey

Another dangerous item – which sent two baggage handlers to hospital.  They were investigating bottles of suspicious orange liquids at a California airport when they caught a whiff of the fumes and became nauseous.  Doctors confirmed they were “just nervous” and the substance turned out to be honey.

4.    Don’t stuff your shoes with batteries and shrapnel to make yourself look taller

It can’t be too comfortable, but that was the explanation given by a man at a Toronto airport when he was stopped with “suspicious materials” in his boots.  Police feared he had stuffed them with explosives, but he was released without charge after convincing them that it was just a sneaky way of adding a few inches to his height.

5.    Don’t let your lover jump the security barrier for one last kiss

Newark Airport was shut down after a man slipped through a security cordon whilst the officer on duty was taking a phone call.  A bystander raised the alarm and there was a full scale alert that led to thousands of passengers being stranded for hours.  The man was never found, but he was picked up by video cameras at the scene, embracing his girlfriend on the other side of the barrier and sauntering off with her, hand in hand. You can see the video below.