‘The Manchester Airport drop off and pick up charges will never feel right’

M.E.N readers have weighed in on the controversial barrierless parking system at Manchester AirportThe new barrierless system at Manchester Airport (Image: Manchester Airport)

The debate around barrierless parking at Manchester Airport has been reignited after a government minister has weighed in on the controversial system.

The airport made the changes to their pick-up and drop-off system in the spring of this year, removing the barriers which previously forced drivers to pay for their visit on the spot.

Now, there is no payment taken at the airport via cash or card, but drivers must remember to pay online before midnight the following day, or risk a £100 fine – reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.

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The airport charge £5 for a five minute stay and £6.40 for ten minutes. The maximum stay is 30 minutes, which costs £25.

Representatives for the airport say the parking barriers resulted in bottlenecks, in turn creating long queues of drivers waiting to leave – who were then charged a higher fee for their longer visit.

They say the barrierless system is designed to do away with these bottlenecks and improve traffic flow – but it has come in for heavy criticism since its introduction, and even drawn interventions from government ministers.

MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, Jim McMahon, wrote to the airport calling for a “full review” of signage approaching the airport and a review of the appeals process, given that unsuccessful appeals increase penalties further.

In a written Parliamentary question, Andrew Cooper, the Labour MP for Mid Cheshire, asked the transport secretary whether she “has had discussions with Manchester Airport on the level of that airport’s (a) drop-off and (b) pick-up charges”.

Keir Mather, who is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, replied: “Most airports in the UK are managed and operated as private businesses, and the provision and charging of car parking at airports is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify.

“However, DfT expects car parking at airports, such as Manchester, to be managed appropriately, and consumers treated fairly.”

Our previous reporting on the statement from the Department for Transport has reignited the debate on the system. 80-year-old John Young said he has fallen foul of the new system a whopping three times, racking up an eye-watering total of £290 in fines.

The pensioner, who hails from Ossett in West Yorkshire, says he uses the system ‘several times a month’ to drop off friends and family, including his daughter-in-law who travels for work.

“I’ve been visiting regularly for two years,” he told the M.E.N. “I do it so often that I was not looking for the signs – I just didn’t realise there was a new system.

“I got the first fine in May and I appealed it, I wrote to the parking company and the airport headquarters. But I never got a response.”

Manchester Airport insist that the changes are clearly signposted(Image: Manchester Airport)

In the time Mr Young was waiting for his appeal, the parking company got debt collectors involved, raising the fee to £170. He has since been hit with two more fines at further visits, bringing the total he has to pay to £290.

“It’s ridiculous what you have to go through,” he said. “I have written to them four times and they said I had no claim. Eventually my wife said to just pay it to save on stress.

“A stay of three minutes per time has cost me £60. It is a nonsense system and a money-making racket. They have no conscience about these things.

“The old system worked perfectly well because the payment was immediate and confirmed on the spot. There was no confusion – you had to pay in order to get out.

“The system of everybody forgetting suits them. I know a lot of other people who have forgotten to do it and have been fined. I wonder how many people have been fined.”

Danny Puri wrote in a Facebook comment under an M.E.N story that he had been fined £60 for failing to pay after a drop-off that had taken ‘less than a minute’.

George Triggs was more forthright, calling the system ‘a money making scam. “It has nothing to do with improving the customer experience or making things easier,” he claimed.

“Instead, it seems like it’s just about fining folks and making a big profit from people who are in ‘holiday mode’ when they arrive at the airport and are more likely to forget about these charges.”

“The time frame to pay is way too short,” wrote Stephen Seagull. “If you are busy it’s easy to forget and the two times I’ve forgotten to pay it and got fined, I’ve remembered a few hours after the deadline.

“It won’t let you pay late. It should be at least midnight two days later.”

A plane takes off from Manchester Airport. (Image: PA)

“By all means charge to park,” wrote Ken Usman-Smith. “But charging someone for a ten minute fly-by for breathing airport air will never feel right.

“Another example of people being conditioned to accept a charge as reasonable when it is not.”

“A fair way would be first five minutes free,” opined Tim Chappell. “This would benefit the general public and also keep traffic flowing.”

“Dear oh dear,” wrote Paul Dyson. “£1000s on a holiday, spend £20 on a breakfast, £9 on a pint, but moan at £5 being dropped off outside the terminal. If you’re that tight, there is a free drop off.”