Airport no stranger to controversy after taxi wars flared

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 18:45

REGULAR visitors to Edinburgh over the last 10 years could be forgiven for longing for the days when it wasn't the busiest in Scotland, or indeed the fastest-growing in the UK.

For its massive expansion during the past decade has been played out against a background of turmoil on its bustling forecourt.

As the airport's passenger numbers were soaring a decade ago, so was anger outside the terminal building as its complex system for taxi firms dropping off and picking up passengers struggled to cope.

For years, only specially licensed taxis were able to pick up fares from the airport, forcing black cab drivers who had dropped off fares to return to the city centre in empty vehicles.

The airport faced mounting criticism after passengers faced queues of up to an hour at peak times as the fleet of officially approved private-hire vehicles and airport cabs struggled to cope.

The city council was forced to intervene after cabbies claimed the airport was flouting the rules over private-hire vehicles by allowing them to pick up fares at the forecourt.

Police officers were also regularly called in to settle disputes as tempers flared.

Taxi-industry leaders mounted a campaign to secure equal access to the terminal building, but it was not until 2006 that a new system for cab drivers was fully in place.

By 2004, the airport, which was being serviced by about 300 private-hire vehicles, had relented and announced the creation of a dedicated rank for black cab drivers.

But it took another two years for the airport to introduce a streamlined system at the terminal for buses, taxis and other cabs, and private motorists.

The controversial new system meant that taxi firms and private-hire operators faced having to pay airport operator BAA 1 every time they entered the airport.

And the new system also saw car drivers being charged to collect family and friends from the airport for the first time.

The 1 fee, which allows them to park for 15 minutes, rises to 2 for 30 minutes, in a new car park.

Only buses and licensed airport taxis registered on an automatic number-plate recognition system were be able to use the lane directly in front of the terminal building.

The airport was later forced to ban dozens of cabbies for blocking an exit road for buses and coaches.

However, a further shake-up was orderedin the wake of the terror attack on Glasgow airport in 2007. Work got underway in March of this year to install steel-coated concrete bollards outside the terminal.

A new security hall and departure lounge are also due to open at the airport later this year.