Dublin airport has been given permission to charge people for dropping off and picking up passengers. This is controversial, but the airport says they have no plans to actually do it.
In response to media reports today, Dublin Airport has no current plans to introduce drop-off or pick-up charges.
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 22, 2023
They don’t, of course, until they do. And it’s actually a fee that isn’t entirely uncommon.
DFW airport’s access road has a toll and driving through in under 8 minutes costs $6. They don’t want people cutting through the airport, But they still charge for dropoffs. $6 applies if you’re on property less than 8 minutes (a cut-through), $2 for 8 – 30 minutes (dropoff) but $3 if it’s over 30 minutes to two hours. And then it jumps. These fees have been common in the U.K. so not sure expanding them to D
Boston studied it a few years ago in exchange for environmental groups dropping objections to building more parking. One push for the fees is anti-car. And, of course, revenue-raising.
Conversely, the toll road that goes to Dulles is free to/from the airport but costs money when not going to the airport.
@ Daniel
you will be shocked and appalled to hear this, but a very good friend of mine who lived in Herndon used to take advantage of this and drive through the airport on the way home. Not to save the toll but to get around the I-66 HOV requirement. My “friend” never got stopped but had a coherent story about urgent business and going to buy a full fare ticket to fly out ASAP if questioned.
@Gary, Heathrow (LHR) has been doing this since last year, it’s GBP5, but they want to put it up to GBP7. If the disgusting and diminutive Sadiq Khan successfully extends his ULEZ charge for older cars, add another GBP12.50 to that.
Birmingham airport (BHX) also just implemented a drop-off charge, I believe it’s GBP7 again. However this can be avoided by dropping/collecting passengers at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) and letting them walk over the connecting footbridge, since a 20 minute wait is free there.
I really dislike the drop-off fee, but in fairness to the airports, people badly abused parking in the *no-stay* drop-off area at LHR instead of using the parking lot (which is expensive), so it’s hard to blame them too hotly. Oh… why not, LHR is largely owned by foreign interests who just want to schtupp everyone.
The Dulles Toll Road fees goes to pay for Metro Wash Airport Authority massive blunder in attempting to manage the metro rail extension to the airport and beyond. Promised to cost $1.2 billion but ended up north of $3 billion (and years later than scheduled).
The CLOWNS running these airports seem to forget who they are working for. They always screw the public while giving themselves a big fat raise and slapping themselves on the back.
Notably, these fees are relatively common in the United Kingdom (insofar as anything can be relatively common in a country with many fewer large commercial service airports).
Its a cash grab. The regulator limits what they can charge for fees, so they see things like this as a way to get around the cap imposed by the regulator.
And since DUB has crappy public transport options, the inevitable green/sustainability claims they will roll out to support it will be nonsense. Most people will have no choice except to pay.
The DFW fee encourages people to park in an open parking space instead of idling endlessly and blocking roadway access. it makes the airport experience better for everyone.
Compare to the gridlock at say EWR where people stand on a highway shoulder or triple park because they dont want to pay (the absurd fees) to park.
@rjb – The toll has existed long before silver line construction began.
@secret Herndon – No longer an HOV exemption for drivers on 66 going to the airport. That went away when tolls were implemented for non-HOV drivers.
*should have said an “airport exemption”
You should live in Sydney! The greedy, money hungry Macquarie bank that runs the parking there gouges you $20 for an hour for the privilege of parking so you can greet someone arriving from overseas.
I can see having a fee if there is adequate public transit options. The only US airport I have used that had something even close was Boston’s Logan airport. But I don’t it was all that easy to use if you weren’t from there area. It didn’t run all night, so if you were leaving too early or arriving too late you still needed a ride. I’m also not sure how safe it is to be in public transit alone at those times laden down with luggage.
One way to avoid the fee in DFW is to drop off/pick up at the Rental Car Center.