Best Scots airport award not merited

SIR, – The award of Best Airport in Scotland to Inverness leaves me incredulous. This airport has the worst service in Scotland for dropping off and picking up passengers.

Passengers travel great distances from across the north of Scotland to reach the airport. There is no designated dropoff/collection area. Customers have to enter the car park which is free of charge for only 10 minutes. There is insufficient room to drop off/collect passengers and luggage, causing queues, frustration, a safety hazard and penalty for over-staying the 10-minute free period.

This has led to cars being parked outside the airport perimeter on the public road and in the adjacent industrial estate, often on private land. This is also causing an unacceptable safety hazard.

The problem of being unable to exit within 10 minutes is exacerbated and becomes chaotic if drivers reach the barrier and are then required to pay, as the ticket machines are at the airport terminal.

This causes other drivers in the queue to then breach their 10minute allowance. In an effort to alleviate this, a payment machine has been installed at the barrier, but having to leave your vehicle to make payment causes further queuing and delays other drivers, resulting in penalties along the queue.

With the 1million passenger number soon to be reached, a redesign of the drop-off/collection facility is urgently required. There is clearly space available to accommodate this. It would also benefit greatly from having more than one entry and exit barrier. John Massie, Union

Road, Inverness