Pick-up fees at airports on the rise, RAC warns drivers

Edinburgh Airport has separate drop-off and pick-up zone charges

Drivers face paying hiked charges for picking up passengers at Scotland’s main airports if they park for longer than 15-20 minutes, an RAC survey highlighted today.

It came as part of the motoring group’s research which found four in five UK airports have increased fees for using drop-off and pick-up zones since last year.

The study also showed it is more expensive to pick up than drop off passengers in the designated zones at Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports, although the minimum pick-up charge has not gone up. Drivers are likely to be able to drop-off passengers within minutes, but they may find themselves having to stay longer when picking up, for instance because of delays to arriving flights or at baggage reclaim.

At Edinburgh, the RAC said the separate pick-up zone cost £4 for 15 minutes, which has not changed, but it now costs £7 for 30 minutes (previously one hour), £10 for an hour and £16 for two hours (previously £14.50). Drop-off is from £2 for five minutes.

At Glasgow Airport, the RAC said the £3 pick-up zone charge for 20 minutes was unchanged, but the charge for one hour had increased from £6 to £6.50 and for two hours by 50p to £12.50.

The airport pointed out it cost only £2 for ten minutes in its combined “dedicated pick-up and drop-off facility” but this was for brief stops only.

A spokesman said: “Passengers wishing to stay any longer while at the airport are advised to use our short-stay car parks located directly across from the main terminal.

“Glasgow airport also offers free parking for up to 30 minutes in its long-stay car park.”

At Aberdeen, the £2.50 for 15 minutes charge hasn’t changed, but the fee for one hour has gone up by 50p to £6.50, and the £10.50 charge for three hours has been replaced with £11 for 90 minutes and £16 for two hours. Drop-off is from £2.50 for 15 minutes.

Edinburgh Airport said: “The RAC has chosen to provide statistics without any context in a bid to get as much publicity as possible for its own fee-paying organisation.

“We continue to be one of the few airports to offer a free drop-off and pick-up zone [ten minutes in long-stay car park].

“We’ve always been transparent in the reasons behind our increase – to combat congestion. This is already delivering positive results and the additional money will contribute to a second road to improve access for motorists and public transport.”