Edinburgh Airport will increase drop-off fees for a 10-minute stay to £8.50 from next week, it has announced. This is up by £2.50. Airport bosses say the move was necessary to raise more income after an “unacceptable” £8million increase in the company’s rates bill. The airport will also scrap a 50% reduction for electric vehicles from May 18. A free drop-off and pick-up area – about a 10-minute walk away and limited to a 30-minute stay – will remain in place at the long stay car park, with more spaces added.
Chief executive Gordan Dewar said: “Like many across the hospitality and tourism sectors who have seen business rates soar, we have no choice but to pass part of this cost on to passengers.”
It follows a 142% rise in the Edinburgh Airport business rates, reportedly the largest increase in costs faced by any airport in Scotland and the UK. Dewar said: “This decision to impose an unplanned and wholly disproportionate £8 million rates increase has an immediate and negative impact on our business.
“We made this clear in correspondence with the Lothians assessor, who set the increase, and in discussions with the Scottish government, which has endorsed it.
“In practical terms, it equates to funding around 200 jobs, two aircraft stands, or five new security lanes.
“It is not a cost that can be absorbed; it must be covered, and trade-offs like this are unfortunately unavoidable.”
He added: “We have always accepted that, given our size, we should pay more, but the scale of this increase is simply unacceptable.”
Currently, Edinburgh Airport’s drop-off fee is £6 while the short-stay terminal car park costs £7 for up to 15 minutes wait time and £14 for 30 minutes. Other short-stay car parks further from the terminal typically cost between £7 and £10, significantly increasing in cost beyond an hour, BBC reports.
Many drivers have begun parking in the laybys near the airport to avoid the fees, the broadcaster investigated last year.