Belfast International price hike leaves airport worse value per minute than Stansted, Glasgow or Dublin
Belfast International’s looming price hike will leave the airport worse value per minute than Stansted, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dublin.
On Tuesday the airport announced that fees to use its drop-off section will increase from £3 for 10 minutes to £5, citing cost pressures as a reason for the 66% rise.
Several airports around the UK have bumped up their parking prices since the start of this year; in percentage terms, Belfast International’s is one of the largest hikes, if not the largest, across the four nations.
Taking effect at the start of next week, it will mean the airport charging 50p per minute for people to leave their loved ones off. That’s worse value than several well-known airports on mainland Great Britain.
London Stansted, Glasgow and Aberdeen all stick their prices at £7 for 15 minutes, which equates to 46.6p per minute – and Birmingham airport offers its drop-off section completely free for 10 minutes.
Closer to home, Belfast City Airport charges £4 for 10 minutes; Dublin doesn’t offer drop-off parking per se, but its short-stay car parks are priced at the equivalent of £2.61 for an hour.
Belfast International, as is common at UK airports, does offer a free drop-off zone, but it’s a distance from the main passenger building – in this case, located in a long-stay car park. Similarly, Belfast City Airport also offers a free drop-off point in its long-stay facility.
Several UK airports have increased their drop-off prices since the start of this year, but in percentage terms Belfast International looks to be one of the worst – Heathrow, for example, bumped up its fees by 17% while Glasgow’s rose by 16.6%.
Despite the steep increase, Northern Ireland busiest airport is far from the most expensive in the UK. That dubious honour goes to Gatwick, which charges a minimum £10 to access the drop-off zone; not far behind is Bristol’s £8.50 for 10 minutes.
Pegged at exactly the same level as Belfast International was Newcastle International, offering 10 minutes for £5; slightly higher are Liverpool John Lennon’s £6 for 10 minutes and Manchester Airport’s £6.40 for 10 minutes.
A spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport said the new drop-off prices “reflect significant cost pressures that many businesses across Northern Ireland are currently facing”.
The airport maintained the hike would bring it into line with similar pricing structures at other UK facilities.