'Hundreds' slapped with parking charges at East Midlands Airport after recent changes, Derbyshire taxi driver claims

A taxi driver claims hundreds of people have been hit with parking fines after East Midlands Airport made changes at its drop-off point.
East Midlands Airport.East Midlands Airport.
East Midlands Airport.

'Hundreds' hit with East Midlands Airport parking charges after drop-off point changes, taxi driver claims

A few days ago the airport changed the fees for its drop-off point from 10 minutes for £2 to five minutes for £2.

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And for every extra minute drivers spend there over the five minutes they are charged an extra pound.

Full-time taxi driver Sue Locke, of Ilkeston, said she no longer feels comfortable making journeys to the Castle Donington airport as she fears she will be left out of pocket.

The 42-year-old said: "We were sat at a pick up point waiting for passengers to come through when one of our drivers was talking to the ANPR van driver.

"The van driver said in the first four days 150 to 250 people received fines. One of my colleagues had to pay £16 to get out, we only get £22.50 for the job.

"It's not worth our while going to East Midlands Airport.

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"We do not know whether you are going to walk away with debt. None of us want to do this any more.

"The ANPR camera which records your registration on entering is about 300m before the drop-off area starts and there are two zebra crossings between the start and the drop-off point.

"Obviously the pedestrians on those crossings don't care that you are under a time limit.

"I had to pay £9 because of the congestion in the drop-off area and the inadequate barrier facilities.

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"They are just seeing an opportunity to make more money from their passengers."

A spokesperson for East Midlands Airport said: "The recent changes to rapid drop off (RDO) waiting times at East Midlands Airport are part of a package of measures to improve traffic flow across the airport site making it safer for all visitors.

"The vast majority of our passengers are in and out of RDO within five minutes. For those who do want to stay longer, we offer one-hour free parking.

"Disabled passengers can use our 30-minute free parking with a blue badge - and this applies to taxis - in short stay one which is our closest car park to the terminals.

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"By closely monitoring the situation since the changes were introduced we are aware that, at peak times, some users of the RDO have been unable to leave within the five minutes.

"Regrettably, this had led to some people incurring excess charges due to exceeding the five minutes, despite having dropped their passengers off well within that time. We are addressing these operational issues as an immediate priority.

"For the safety of all our visitors, parking on the approach roads to the airport is strictly prohibited. Picking up or dropping off passengers in these areas is dangerous and should drivers do so, they are likely to incur a parking charge notice (PCN) of £100."

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