Manchester Airport drop off charges, designed to manage congestion outside its terminals, are operational from today, 10th July.
From today, passengers can take advantage of a new dedicated drop off site, from where passengers will be able to board a free shuttle service to their terminal of choice, reducing the number of cars entering the busiest areas of the site.
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.
It is anticipated the new charges will ease congestion and deter passengers from using the forecourt drop-off points.
Those still wanting to be dropped-off directly outside of the terminals will pay a £3 fee for five minutes or £4 for 10.
Blue badge holders will not pay to drop off and a special scheme has been introduced for local station users. Non-Blue Badge holders who have booked special assistance can use the free Manchester Airport drop off site, where there will be a dedicated help point to communicate with the airport’s assistance provider OCS. All buses travelling to and from the terminals from this location are wheelchair accessible.
There is no change to arrangements for picking people up, with those collecting passengers asked to park in the car parks at each terminal (£4 for 30 minutes).
Discount scheme for commercial operators
A discount scheme has been 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. Further details can be found here: http://bit.ly/privatehireoperators
Tricia Williams, Chief Operating Officer 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 to assist any passengers who need guidance or help.”
£25 fine to recirculate
One of the main drivers of congestion is the high proportion of vehicles recirculating around the campus. 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.
Proceeds from the forecourt management scheme will go into a new public transport fund set up by the airport. This will be used to support measures to improve access 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.
Passengers and airport users can find out more information here:
General website with maps Local residents accessing the station Private hire firms