Plane parking cheaper than drop-off zone at Edinburgh Airport Published duration 1 September 2017

It costs more to stop a car in the drop-off zone at Edinburgh Airport than it does to park a jet on the airfield.

Airport officials have confirmed it costs £4.95 to park an Airbus A320 on the tarmac for 15 minutes.

Stopping a car for the same amount of time in the airport's drop-off zone costs £5.

Edinburgh Airport said the two were incomparable. A spokesman said the drop-off zone was not a car park and charges helped keep traffic flowing.

'Fleecing people'

Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at IAM RoadSmart Scotland, said: "Our views have always been that airports live by people arriving by car.

"The charges are unfair because even with the trams there's no other real alternative.

"You've no choice but to pay these exorbitant fees.

"There's just not the public transport for families to travel to the airport with their luggage. So they've got a captive market."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: "This is not a like-for-like comparison and the suggestion is extremely misleading.

"The drop-off area is not a car park and charges promote the flow of vehicles in a space restricted area, with 98% passing through in under five minutes and 99.5% passing through in under 10 minutes.

"Aircraft do not simply drop-off passengers - they are often based at the airport and perform several rotations every day, typically serving more than 300 people per rotation.

"Aircraft are also charged to land and for every passenger facilitated."