How secure is airport parking?

Many people consider their cars to be their pride and joy so it’s not surprising that you’re going to want to ensure you’re leaving it in the best hands when you are trusting it with airport parking. A recent episode of Watchdog shook people’s faith in car valeting services available at airports. A tracking device secretly hidden in cars revealed that Pink Meet & Greet was a rogue company who were taking people for a ride, quite literally.

It was revealed that despite promises of safe and secure parking, people’s vehicles were in fact only in secure compounds for an average of two out of five days with this airport parking service. For the remaining time cars were passed between supermarket car parks and streets. Hardly the kind of service you expect for about £75 a week.  As if this wasn’t enough, cars were being driven at speeds of over 100 mph and there were reports of illegal substances and cds that didn’t belong to the owners being found in cars.

There is no need to write off companies that offer airport parking though. There are some that provide very good services, are reliable and reasonably priced. The best way to ensure you are getting value for money and are with a genuine company is to take following steps before committing to anything.

Make sure you thoroughly check out the company you are planning to use before committing to anything when looking for airport parking. If they are a genuine company they should be a member of the Independent Airport Park and Ride Association (IAPRA). This should give you a good indication that you will be leaving your vehicle in safe hands.

Opt for organisations who have been awarded the Safer Parking Award which is granted by the police after a detailed risk assessment. To check for registration visit www.saferparking.com

Watch out for companies such as Airport Car Parking Direct who claim to have the AA Gold Standard award for security. This scheme was terminated over five years ago so any company displaying the award should be reported.  

Image belongs to: Esteban De Sousa Seibane. Taken from: www.flickr.com

Glasgow Airport Terror Attack

June 30^th 2007 saw the United Kingdom being targeted with terrorist attacks once again. Glasgow airport faced panic and fear when a Jeep was driven into the doors of the main terminal and then burst into flames. On the airport’s busiest day of the year, there is no doubt that this was intended to cause mass destruction and chaos.

When it’s clear that this is the only way terrorists feel they can communicate with and get politicians in the Western World to listen to them, should our society live in fear of what’s going to happen next? You would think that people’s trust in public transport would be at an all time low. However, a shocking 90 percent of people in the UK have made no changes in their travel behaviour since the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport in June. Nine percent say the changes they have made are merely just being more alert about their surroundings. This means that only one percent of the population have been severely affected by the recent events.

What does this say about the general public? Do we whole – heartedly trust security officials at airports or has our society become so used to this targeted behaviour that we just accept it and carry on with our everyday lives? Perhaps 99 percent of the population are living in ignorant bliss and believe that it will never happen to them.  Maybe we’re not affected by this kind of thing anymore or perhaps the events of June the 30^th just weren’t shocking enough.

There is evidence to suggest that these events affect people more than they realise. September 11^th saw an immediate and sharp reduction in demand for travel. Within a few weeks, well in excess of 100,000 jobs had been lost in the airline sector and travel agents, hotel companies and tour operators had to lay off staff. However, it’s not just people who use public transport that suffer. What about the people who happen to be walking past the twin towers at the time a plane flew into them, what about the train driver who went to work on 07/07 expecting it to be just another day and what about the person who walked into Glasgow airport to greet a loved one?

It does appear that on the whole, people have been left unaffected. 180,000 passengers are predicted to have passed through Glasgow airport last weekend with the start of the Glasgow fair. Less than a fortnight after the attack both terminals were operating normally and car parks were open as normal. Other than extra security being placed around the terminal and its approach roads, it seems like its business as usual. Cancellations have also been minimal showing that travellers remain confident in travelling to Glasgow and Scotland.

Red Bull Adverts for Gatwick Airport

Passengers flying to and from Gatwick Airport will be witnessing the world’s largest outdoor advertisement for the Red Bull Air Race World Series. The advertisement is part of a £1.2 million marketing campaign and will involve a 125,000 square foot Red Bull Air Race logo under the Gatwick and Heathrow flight paths. The campaign has the potential to reach 5 million passengers and therefore could be a huge success.

The aim of the campaign is to increase ticket sales to the event which is taking place in London on the 28^th and 29^th of July. Being the equivalent of 60 tennis courts, this Red Bull publicity stunt is guaranteed to attract people’s attention.  

The outdoor adverts will be supported by the first ever 60-second 3D cinema advertisement and posters which will be displayed around Gatwick Airport. The campaign strategy will generate 80 million consumer impacts led by a three week burst of television advertising.

Several other advertisers have come up with this concept before which has caused a lot of controversy. A Lynx deodorant advert was removed shortly after it was unveiled because the company did not get consent from the local authority. Others have been removed due to their inappropriate nature. A spokeswoman from Crawley Borough Council has said that so far no complaints have been made about the advert, but if any were to be made they would have to investigate the matter.

BAA are keen to stress that even though the advert is under the flight paths of Heathrow and Gatwick, it is not on their land and therefore it hasn’t got anything to do with them. 

Edinburgh Airport Taxi Rip-off

An MP is demanding that action be taken after he was quoted nearly £50 for a 16-mile journey from Edinburgh Airport. Jim Devine is appalled that taxis from the airport can justify these prices. He says that a local taxi from his house to the airport would normally cost less than half that price.

He argues that these fares could deter tourists who would be understandably shocked at these prices from visiting the city again. The general consensus following this ordeal is that taxi prices should be capped or controlled. Many people feel that there is absolutely no reason why people travelling from Edinburgh Airport should have to pay double the amount purely because they are coming from the airport.

Others feel that it would be in the interest of taxi firms to reduce their prices anyway because if they don’t, then people will start using public transport instead. Either this or the airport is likely to see an increase in the amount of people using the meet and greet services available for parking at Edinburgh airport. Meet and greet services are very popular and are a convenient way of getting to and from the airport. Passengers drive their car to the airport and it is left there until they return from their journey. You can be satisfied that your car will be kept safe while you are away, don’t have to pay a fortune to get to and from the airport or struggle with your luggage on public transport. As well as this you don’t have to worry about trying to find parking at airports.

Unfortunately, Edinburgh Airport has no control over the prices charged by taxis to and from the airport which means that they are free to charge whatever they like. This isn’t helped by the fact that taxis in Edinburgh are thought to be amongst the most expensive in the world so prices are going to be high anyway.  On top of this, the law clearly states that if a taxi is going outside of the city’s region, it can charge whatever they like.

It seems unlikely that taxi firms operating at Edinburgh airport are unlikely to reduce their fees as they are perfectly within their rights to charge whatever they like. Whereas some people are happy to accept that it’s going to cost more, others are not. For a cheaper fare it is advisable to book a taxi from a local firm not operating at the airport to come and pick you up.     

Image belongs to: Esteban De Sousa Seibane. Taken from: www.flickr.com 

Durham Tees Valley Airport Security Fears

An MP from the North East has expressed his concerns about the level of security at Durham Tees Valley Airport. It is thought that the airport could be a very appealing target for terrorists as it’s so close to the army’s Catterick garrison – home to one of the UK’s largest army bases. Making it even more appealing to terrorists is the fact that the airport is used by soldiers boarding military flights to the Middle East.

One of the suggested solutions to lower the risk of this happening was to have the military fly at night when there are fewer civilians using Durham Tees Valley Airport. However, this idea has since been disregarded as it’s unrealistic and impractical. As well as this, many locals have been campaigning for years to reduce the number of night – time flights. It is thought that increasing them would only anger those living near the airport and cause more problems.

A member of the local council has admitted that Durham Tess Valley Airport is inadequate for military use and they do not have enough police to cover it and carry out observations of anything suspicious. Another suggested idea was for the military to use their own air-field as this would have limited impact on the public.

Following the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport, security was stepped up at Durham Tees Valley Airport however. Shortly after the incident armed police were drafted in amid fears that other terminals may be targeted by terrorists. The airport was put on high alert and an armed response team were patrolling throughout the airport.