Airport smooths over car park fuss

Raw Deal recently told of a car park row involving Sunday Post reader Finbarr McCarthy and Edinburgh Airport.

The Dundee-based school teacher had been scheduled to fly to Milan but his flight was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He had paid £35.99 to park his car at the airport for the duration of his three-day trip.

When his flight was called off he requested a refund or, failing that, for his pre-booked parking slot to be swapped to another date. So he was dismayed when later told that neither would be possible.

“You can cancel your booking for free within the first 24 hours of making it but this is a non-flexible booking so unfortunately it cannot be transferred, amended or cancelled,” he was advised.

Raw Deal managed to get Finbarr his money refunded but his case prompted further letters from others caught in a similar situation.

Better news for travellers is that the airport is now issuing credit notes for non-flexible parking bookings made for flights cancelled as a result of the pandemic.

The customer services team said that due to the rapidly changing situation its policies were “continually being updated and reviewed”.

Advice on the airport parking website now states: “If you were unable to travel due to Covid-19 from March 1 2020, and booked a non-flex product, then you can receive a credit off your next booking.

“If you have a qualifying booking, you can claim a credit to the value of your original non-flex booking.”