Hike in charges at Southampton Airport to drop off and pick up passengers
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
It costs drivers more to pick up and drop off passengers at Southampton Airport as measures have been taken to try and make it profitable again.
Southampton Airport has been loss-making since 2019. According to the airport, fewer than 10 per cent of overall passengers use the pick-up and drop-off area.
But an increase in the fee earlier this year by £1, from £6, as well as a number of other measures should see the airport go “back into profit”.
Gavin Williams, the airport’s managing director, said that while the airport’s prices may seem high when compared to other UK airports based on a price-per-minute calculation, it is the fifth cheapest in the UK overall.
“So we do have an increase in the drop-off fee,” Mr Williams added.
“The biggest issue we have at the moment at the airport is our revenue” Mr Williams said. “So this is one of the several schemes we have to get the airport back into profit.”
Another initiative includes the reopening of the long-stay service, offering customers a more cost-effective option than the previously available short-stay service, compared to a two-way taxi service.
In this aspect, Mr Williams said: “We now have a long stay offering. Before, we had just a short stay offer in our airport. So you only have one option to purchase.
“We have observed that when people made their initial bookings, they preferred being dropped off due to the higher costs associated with other options.
“However, with our new short-stay offering, which is significantly more affordable, customers now have greater flexibility. We anticipate that this change will lead to an increase in booking fees rather than drop-off fees.”