Flight costs may rise if levy hits airports

HOLIDAYMAKERS face paying extra charges if airports are hit by the parking tax, MSPs have claimed.

Scotland’s busiest airports provide thousands of spaces for their staff, which could land them with annual bills of more than £400,000.

Fears were raised yesterday that additional costs could either be passed on to employees or customers who use parking facilities at airports.

It came as the Government confirmed it had cancelled plans for a direct rail link to Glasgow Airport, leaving many with no choice but to drive.

The preferred transport link is likely to take the form of a ‘pod shuttle’ system from Paisley’s Gilmour Street railway station.

Glasgow Airport has 1,000 staff parking spaces, meaning its annual bill could be £415,000 under the workplace parking levy. Edinburgh Airport would face an even bigger charge.

Scottish Lib Dem transport spokesman Mike Rumbles said the rail link cancellation should mean airport workers must not face the threat of having to pay a workplace parking levy.

He added: ‘Airport workers at Glasgow International now have a pretty strong case given the SNP have stripped them of the only alternative to travelling to work by road.

‘So the list of potential exemptions to the SNP and the Greens’ new shoddy workplace parking proposals is growing and growing.

‘Passengers want Glasgow Airport to have a direct link with Glasgow. Ministers need to

face up to the transport challenges and devise a realistic route from the city centre to the airport.’

Warning of the threat customers and staff will fall victim to a workplace parking levy, Mr Rumbles said: ‘I am very concerned about this. The problem is we don’t know what the proposal is yet or who will end up paying for it.’

Officials at Glasgow Airport declined to comment on the parking levy until more details emerge about the proposals.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: ‘We will continue to monitor the progress of the levy with interest and will consider any developments in line with what is in the best interests of our staff.’

City of Edinburgh Council confirmed last week it is interested in being the first local authority to introduce the charge when the new powers come into effect – and predicted it could raise between £9million and £15million a year if the charge was around £400 per space.

Among the biggest staff car parks in the city are the airport, the Scottish Government’s Victoria Quay office, which has 558 employee spaces, and the RBS headquarters at Gogarburn, with 1,500 spaces.