[MartynSinclair]

HAL have stopped passenger pick up in the drop off zone and wardens are issuing £40 fines for offenders caught. Only exception is, you can pick up, if you are dropping off at the same time. At the same time, spaces in the drop of zone were blocked, making it harder to actually find a drop off space and the number of police vehicles permanently parked in the drop off zone seems to have increased.

Passenger pick up’s were then directed to the car park, presumably so HAL can collect a fee each time.. Now about 30 spaces on level one have been blocked off and there is a permanent warden ensuring drivers only park in specified spaces. In the main, the problem is being caused by taxi’s / uber etc, who are stopping, loading and driving off… but at the same time causing a jam.

I also do not think it is practical for there not to be fast collection point for passengers at T5 (or indeed any airport). It is ridiculous for drivers to have to park up and then come into the terminal to meet passengers..

So what are the possible solutions the airport could introduce.

I would favour an option where drivers are given 5 minutes free parking in the drop off zone, but after that, the charges would be steep to ensure the facility isn’t taken advantage off. This works very well at Frankfurt airport.

Or as Alex reported below, the airport was going to find a car parking facility for taxi’s uber….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-36273670

[IanFromHKG]

This really bugs me. I understand that drop-offs are fairly instantaneous, and of course I don’t believe that anyone should be allowed to short-term-park without paying. So if someone else is in a drop-off/pick-up zone for more than two or three minutes, fine them. But why should I be charged when I wait by the kerbside and my wife picks me up in less time than a taxi drops someone off (because I don’t have to pay her!)?

It is opportunistic profiteering, I don’t like it, and frankly I am going to try to avoid any charge for taking up a kerbside for less than two minutes.

[MrMichael]

Fighting talk IanFromHKG. I tend to agree with you, when Bournemouth introduced a charge you may remember you and I had considerable debate on the merits of a byelaw supporting such shenanigans. Profiteering it most certainly is, but I stand by my previous thoughts on the matter that any signage is going to have be abundant and 100% clear for any penalty and or fine to hold up.

[MartynSinclair]

@Ian, just to be clear, drop offs are free, its the pick ups that cost.

I actually don’t have issue with a charge. The main issues I have is the need to block perfectly adequate parking bays off (both outside the terminal and in the car park) and for there to be a need for HAL to park a traffic warden in a car park!!!

I eventually guess, HAL will make it more difficult for T5 car park level 1 being used as a pick up point especially for taxis….

I wonder where it will move to next???

[Flightlevel]

This will also cause more traffic jams in local villages since pick up drivers will have to wait there until they get a call that their pax are ready and then drive into T5 to collect them, taking only minutes to do so, and avoiding wardens. Its a funny old game!

[lostantipod]

As long as successive U.K. Governments continue to turn a blind eye to the s*** state of public transport infrastructure in this country, nobody should expect anything less than the profiteering and delays we get today. Don’t hate the airport parking operator, hospital car parks are just as bad.

[Chutzpahflyer]

A useful feature of US airports is the cellphone parking area, an off-airport (or certainly off central area) parking lot for meeters-and-greeters to wait for their arriving passenger without clogging up drop-off or pick-up zones. British airports could do with adopting this idea, but presumably there’s not so much money in it for airport owners as they get from the hassle of parking and going in to the terminal, which makes a minimum 20-30 minutes out of what need be only 2-3 minutes.

[ChrisHurrey]

The problem could be eased if HAL allowed say 10 minutes free parking in the short-term car park. That would not net them any profit however, so that will never happen. I travel frequently on business and have got accustomed to being picked up quickly in the so-called drop off zone. Now it involves a “where are you conversation?” with my wife, plus £3.50 for the privilege of parking for 5 minutes.

[FDOS_UK]

Why don’t people assess the competition from other airports and move their business where appropriate?

Gatwick is well connected to London by public transport, as is Stansted and Luton – City is available, too. One can find a good choice of flights from those.

For some in the Home Counties, Birmingham is also a viable option.

I struggle to feel much sympathy for people complaining about Heathrow, when they accept the bad practices that it feels able to introduce due to its dominant position.

With all due respect to other posters, I don’t see this so much as being a goverment problem , as self induced.

[Author]

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