Road safety fears raised over Edinburgh airport's £1 fee

Published on Tuesday 3 August 2010 13:34

ROAD safety fears over Edinburgh airport's controversial £1 passenger drop-off charge have been raised because drivers may try to stop on approach roads to the terminal instead.

The concern is among issues to be addressed in a survey to be launched by the Midlothian and East Lothian Chamber of Commerce.

The survey will canvass opinion on the airport's plan to introduce the charge for terminal drop-offs from October.

The current free terminal drop-off zone will be moved to the long-stay car park, where passengers can switch to free shuttle buses running every few minutes to reach their flights.

Chamber manager Laura Socha said 50 responses to the online survey had been received within hours of its launch — the highest rate of any poll it has organised.

Poll questions include whether the drop-off charge would influence people not to use the airport, whether it would encourage more public transport use and whether it would have a negative effect on business and tourism.

Ms Socha said the survey had been launched after she was told of concerns about the charge.

She said: "Reaction has been quite negative, with safety concerns the main issue that has been raised with me.

"There is a feeling that people may try to cheat the system by dropping passengers on the surrounding roads, which could cause all sorts of trouble. It could be chaotic if cars stop all over the place and there are passengers walking towards the terminal with their luggage."

Ms Socha said she had also heard from business travellers who were furious that Belfast International Airport had introduced a similar 1 drop-off charge last month.

The chamber's move comes despite Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, of which the airport is a member, backing the charge.

Motoring groups said Edinburgh's plans could pose road safety problems.

Paul Watters of the Automobile Association, said drivers would "inevitably" try to avoid paying the charge by stopping on other airport roads.

He said: "People vote with their wheels. They are very canny about finding ways of circumventing these things.

"The charge is an opportunistic, revenue-raising plan. Dropping people off at the terminal is quite an efficient use of transport, particularly when it involves elderly passengers and those with heavy luggage or children."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: "A free drop-off area will be retained for those drivers who do not wish to pay the optional 1.

"We're working with our police and traffic warden colleagues on how those wardens currently employed on the drop-off area will be redeployed to ensure smooth traffic flows in and around the airport."

The charge has been met with unanimous opposition from all 16 Lothian MSPs, with ministers stating they will not support it.

Petitions launched against the move by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have attracted more than 5,000 signatures.

The survey is at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/MELCCsurvey.