Wellington Airport Strikes Deal with Uber

Users can immediately begin being dropped off in the public dropoff zone outside the airport check-in area

Wellington has become the first airport in New Zealand to strike a deal with ride-sharing company Uber. From tomorrow Uber’s drivers will be able to pick up and drop off riders, freed from the lingering threat of being trespassed. Users can immediately begin being dropped off in the public dropoff zone outside the airport checkin area. A dedicated pick-up zone for Uber drivers will be opened on the ground floor on September 1. The deal is hardly unvarnished good news for users of the service, who will effectively now face a price rise for rides which start or end at the airport.

Uber will collect a $3 (F$4.42) fee for all pick-ups and drop-offs on airport property on behalf of the airport company, starting on Friday.

For some, the deal may seem confusing, as users of the technology company, which has become a byword for digital disruption, clearly already use the service at the airport.

But at airports in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - the only cities in which Uber operates in New Zealand - the practice is officially forbidden.

Passengers are often forced to walk off airport property, or at least to parts of the site which are less closely monitored, to be picked up, otherwise the drivers risk fines or being barred from the property. Airports have blamed transport regulations for the impasse.