Edinburgh Airport (Drop-off Charges)

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 5:01 pm on 9 September 2010.

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Photo of Gavin Brown Gavin Brown Conservative 5:01, 9 September 2010

I thank the MSPs who have remained behind for the debate and those who signed the motion, which has allowed the debate to take place.

Let me put it simply: charging people for dropping someone off, whether it is a friend or family member, is wrong and just plain mean. That was my starting point and, having heard the views of a number of constituents, I decided to take on the campaign and to spend time pushing it forward. The campaign has garnered the support of thousands of people in Edinburgh and the Lothians, and beyond. It has support from shop owners, travel agents, other tourism businesses, small businesses throughout the region, Age Scotland and the Scottish Taxi Federation, among others. I am grateful to all of them for the support that they have given.

The reasons why there are big concerns are several. The first is that when the idea was first suggested, the airport's response to the Edinburgh Evening News in the middle of June was that it was not going to happen: there were a number of options for changing the forecourt and only one of them contained the possibility of a charge. The airport said that it would consult on and discuss the matter with a range of stakeholders, including passengers, before reaching any decision. I discovered that that was not correct: the decision had, indeed, been taken and there was no intention at all to consult passengers about the proposal to charge people simply for dropping someone off. The only consultation that would take place was on how the decision would be marketed and how the signage at the airport might look.

Big concerns were expressed by elderly residents and people with mobility difficulties who do not have blue badges. Those with blue badges are of course exempt from the charge, but many of my constituents have mobility difficulties but do not have a blue badge and so would not be exempt from the charge. Concerns were also raised by families with young children who said that going to the airport and flying is stressful enough without having to pay to be dropped off, or go to a drop-off point a mile or so away and await a bus.

The other concern for a number of residents, which the previous managing director of the airport did not put to bed, is that the charge is unlikely to stay at £1 for long. Taxis were initially charged £1 for picking up at Edinburgh airport, but that moved to £1.50, it is now at £2 and I understand that it is scheduled to go up again. It would just be a matter of time before the £1 charge became something more than that.

So, why did the airport make this decision? We were given an array of reasons—and the primary one appears to have changed with the passage of time. The initial justification for the decision was to get people on to public transport. That sounds good, but the problem is that for many people within the Lothians—as well as in Fife, the Borders and elsewhere—taking public transport to Edinburgh airport is simply not an option. It might be okay for someone who lives on the main bus route, which offers an extremely good service, but that is not an option for people who live in most parts of Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian or even for people in most parts of Edinburgh. Not many people will buy the suggestion that the primary reason is to get people onto public transport, given that public transport is not available. A constituent who signed the petition said:

"I would need to take 2-3 buses to get there and it would take me several hours. It's not viable with toddlers, prams and luggage, and if it's early in the morning I can't even take 2-3 buses."

We then heard from the airport that the reason was that it wants to upgrade to a "better passenger experience". A constituent told me that it would be a better passenger experience not to have to pay £1 simply to be dropped off. If that is an upgrade, I would hate to see a downgrade to the passenger experience. A constituent said:

"This will just irritate and deter. An insult to our wallets and intelligence."

The reason the airport now gives—this is a late entry—is that the current forecourt is not fit for dropping off because it is congested and dangerous and people cannot get in or out. I was surprised to hear that reason, particularly given that it was a late entry. I have visited the airport many times and I have had feedback from hundreds of constituents on the matter, none of whom has said that there is congestion in the current set-up and none of whom could point to where the problem lies. When I visited the airport and spoke to the management after the point was raised, it was a little embarrassing for the management that while I was there only about six cars visited the forecourt to pick up or drop off and there was space for many more.

If the drop-off charge goes ahead, people might drop off at unauthorised points to avoid the charge. That has apparently happened at other airports. That will create congestion and is potentially dangerous.