Dad told to pay £100 fine after picking up daughter in '20 seconds' from airport
A dad who went to collect his daughter from the airport was left fuming after being ordered to pay a £100 fine to leave despite being there for '20 seconds'.
Lee Mellor, 54, was picking up daughter who had been on a ski trip on Saturday (January 25) when he spotted her waiting at the drop-off area.
But he said after stopping to get her, which he claimed took around '20 seconds', an airport worked demanded he pay the fine as he had picked her up in the area designated for dropping-off.
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Lee was at Terminal 3 of Manchester Airport when the incident happed and he said he was left angry at the worker's demeanour which he said was as if they had 'caught a fish', reports the Manchester Evening News.
Lee said: "He had a real smile on his face which really got to me. "I was shaking. I was so angry. It was the look on his face that really angered me. It was almost like, 'we caught a fish'."
Lee, from Bolton, said after refusing to pay the staff member, who was wearing an orange vest, he moved his car towards the barrier and pressed the button to speak to an operator. The operator then confirmed he would have to stump up the £100. Lee said he told them he could not pay the fine and they agreed to reduce it to £60 after asking if they could call someone who would cover the fine for him.
Lee said he paid the lower amount as his daughter was there. But he said: "If I didn't have my daughter in the car, I would have rung the police because this is extortion. It's been keeping me awake.
"I can't believe they're getting away with it. If he said this is going to be £1,000, there would have been absolutely nothing I could do about it." He said he has complained to the airport.
Manchester Airport introduced drop off and pick up fees in July 2018. In the pick-up area, drivers pay £6.20 for up 15 minutes with the cost rising to £12.40 for a 45 to 60 minute stay.
In the drop off area drivers pay £5 for up to five minutes and £25 if they stay for more than 10 minutes. However, there are fines for people who 'misuse' the system which is aimed at easing traffic flow at the airport.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Our drop-off areas are reserved for drivers who are dropping passengers off. Picking passengers up from them is not permitted under any circumstances because the dwell time when picking passengers up is longer and it would mean the drop-off areas would become congested and unavailable to those who need them.
“Passengers being picked up after a flight should use our designated pick-up areas. These are positioned close to the arrivals areas in all three terminals and have greater capacity than the drop-off areas to allow for the longer dwell times involved when collecting passengers.
“A charge of £6.20 for 15 minutes, £8 for 30 minutes and then further increments up to an hour prevents these areas from being misused – fines are a further deterrent. This means you can feel assured that whether you are picking passengers up or dropping them off there will be capacity for you to do so quickly and efficiently.
“Passengers can also use a completely free pick-up and drop-off shuttle service based by our JetParks 1 car park. Buses operate 24 hours a day and the journey takes less than six minutes.”
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