School holiday price hikes of rip-off airport car parks
BRITAIN’S airports are ramping up parking prices as they ‘exploit’ families jetting abroad for the school summer holidays.
An investigation found that the busiest airports hike longstay charges by more than 10 per cent at peak times.
Fees at Glasgow Airport rise from £49 for an eight-day stay to £59 when parking capacity reaches 90 per cent. Bosses at Aberdeen Airport – which charges drivers £106 for eight days without a prior booking, according to its website – admitted to hikes at busy times, but the charges rise on a sliding scale.
Edinburgh Airport, which charges £150 on the day for a space for the same length of time, admitted to price ‘fluctuations depending upon demand and proximity of departure dates’. The biggest price hike in Britain is by the busiest airport, London Heathrow, which charges up to £4 more a day between July 21 and August 28, as well as over Easter and Christmas, even when pre-booked.
London Stansted charges up to £2 more a day between May and September.
It comes as the Mail exposes a host of parking rip-offs, which mean travellers frequently pay more for leaving their car than for their flights. This includes charging holidaymakers four times more for parking if they fail to book in advance. In the worst cases, drivers who turn up on the day are paying almost £700 more.
Half of airports now charge to drop off a loved one, stopping only for a matter of seconds, while a third charge for clear plastic bags to carry liquids through security.
Martyn James, of online complaints service Resolver, said: ‘It never fails to surprise and annoy me how airports can find endless ways to squeeze cash out of their long-suffering customers.’
London City Airport charges £88 for long-stay parking for eight days if you book online between July 29 and August 5. But if you turn up on the day, this rises to £395. At Heathrow, two weeks’ parking in long-stay in July and August costs £378 instead of £149 if you do not book.
Mr James said: ‘Although it’s possible to save a packet by booking online, airports aren’t exactly going
‘Squeeze cash out of customers’
out of their way to tell their customer’s about these hidden discounts.’
The three busiest airports in Scotland have a fixed rate, irrelevant of season, for pre-booked spaces.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: ‘Passengers are able to book up to 12 months in advance of departure, with significant savings being made the earlier they book.
‘Similar to airlines, our prices fluctuate depending upon demand and proximity to their departure date.’
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport – which has introduced a £2 charge for ten minutes’ drop-off time – said: ‘We charge £49 all year round until occupancy reaches 90 per cent.
‘If you book in advance you will normally get the £49 price. After 90 per cent occupancy the price will increase to £59. Glasgow Airport car parking is very competitive.’
Aberdeen Airport also charges for drop-off, at £2 for up to 15 minutes.
High airport pricing has sparked outrage on social networking websites.
One holidaymaker called Steph, from Addlestone, Surrey, tweeted: ‘Why on earth is parking at Stan- sted airport more expensive than my whole holiday?’
A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘For those not comfortable with paying these rates, Heathrow is also accessible via public transport.’