Manchester Airport has confirmed a charging system to be brought in at areas directly outside each terminal and station on July 10th.
It is hoped the new system will help ease growing levels of congestion at the airport by reducing the number of cars entering the busiest areas of the site.
Those still wanting to be dropped-off directly outside of the terminals will pay a £3 fee for five minutes or £4 for 10 minutes. Otherwise passengers can use the new dedicated drop-off site, from where they will be able to board a free shuttle service to their terminal.
There is no change to arrangements for picking people up, with those collecting passengers asked to park in the car parks at each terminal, at a cost of £4 for 30 minutes.
Tricia Williams, COO of Manchester Airport, said: "Manchester Airport has seen a significant increase in passenger volumes in the past five years and is heavily investing in further growth and improvements to the customer experience, most notably through our £1bn transformation programme.
"This growth, coupled with imposed security restrictions on forecourt capacity and an inability to increase available space, has led to extreme congestion around the estate, especially at peak times. It became clear we had to take a more proactive approach to managing this, as Manchester Airport continues to grow, which is why we are introducing this forecourt management system.
"We are committed to ensuring people can still be dropped off for free at the airport, which is why we have invested in the creation of a dedicated drop-off site and free shuttle service. The location of the site has been carefully chosen due to its proximity to all terminal and the motorway network.
"We have listened carefully to issues raised by passengers since announcing our plans and have been able to respond to many of the concerns raised.
"Staff will be on hand prior, during and after the go live date on Tuesday July 10 to assist any passengers who need guidance or help."
One of the main drivers of congestion is the high proportion of vehicles recirculating around the airport. At peak times, as many as one in five cars travels onto the forecourt areas at least twice.
To address this, vehicles that do want to pay the drop off charge will not be allowed to recirculate. Those that do will face a £25 penalty.
The free drop off site is located at the current Jetparks 1 site, near to Terminal 2. There will be separate shuttle buses for Terminal 2 and Terminal 1/3. They will run every 15 minutes, with journey times of five and seven minutes respectively.
The airport has already confirmed arrangements for passengers with reduced mobility, local users of the airport station and commercial operators, such as private hire taxi firms. Having liaised with disability groups and looking at similar schemes across the UK, the airport has also confirmed Blue Badge holders will be able to drop-off outside the terminals free of charge.
Non-Blue Badge holders who have booked special assistance can use the free drop-off site, where there will be a dedicated help point to communicate with the airport's assistance provider. All buses travelling to and from the terminals from this location are wheelchair accessible.
A scheme for people living near to the airport who use its Ground Transport Interchange to travel in and out of Manchester and surrounding areas has also been developed, following discussions with stakeholders in these communities. It allows people in certain postcodes to apply for a permit, giving them access to the station free of charge for an annual fee of £30.
A discount scheme will also be set up for commercial private hire operators who are frequent users of the airport. The scheme already exists for pick-up within car parks and will now offer discounted access to the forecourts, for drop-off.
Proceeds from the forecourt management scheme will go into a new public transport fund being set up by the airport. This will be used to support measures to improve access to the site for employment opportunities as well as passengers using public transport. The airport will be working in partnership with Cheshire East Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester to administer the fund.
The changes being introduced only impact those dropping-off.
Comments
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Using the airport as a traveler I have no problem with the "free" drop off area as long as the Shuttle services are timely and reliable, however that said if I was traveling I would be getting there in a Taxi most likely, and leaving the same way.
It would be helpful if the new "free" drop off point could be signposted though on the way into the airport, I didnt see any signs today when I came that way back to wilmslow via the M56 Airport junction, there isnt even any easy to find info on the airport website.
If they dont put signs up, many drop offs especially those that come from other areas will be stung.
Travel is becoming a misery.
I can only describe the drop-off/collection charging rates as profiteering and the airport's attempts to justify these because 'other airports charge similarly' is contemptible.
If the airport really needs to move throughput away from its forecourt, what it should consider is an off-site space connected to the main terminal via a travelator.
The taxi fare from Manchester Road Wilmslow along Styal Road to the airport was around £12.50 but has now increased to £16,50 to reflect the new drop off tax - a whopping 30% increase. This is penalising all those dropping off for a few seconds at the airport and taxi drivers, as people try to find alternative time-consuming ways of getting there without the extra charge, by picking up a transit bus at a long-term car park. The bus from Wilmslow to the airport has also ceased running. This really needs a protest campaign until the airport management listen to customer concerns.
Yesterday two out of five worst UK airports were... Manchester and Stanstead... which is owned by Manchester airports!