Airport accused of making a profit out of increased security

People who are no longer able to drive to the front of the terminal to drop off or pick up are being charged to use the short stay car park, according to a regular passenger at the airport.

Now his claims that some motorists are being forced to pay for a brief stop are being investigated by the airport which insists that no-one should be charged if their stay is less than ten minutes.

Airport officials will also be looking at future arrangements for dropping off and picking up if the restrictions remain in force for the long term.

The new security measures have been in place at flight terminals around Britain since the car bomb attack on Glasgow airport and it is not known when or if they will be lifted.

But one passenger who travels through Leeds Bradford two or three times a month said he was shocked to find that motorists who were not allowed near the terminal were having to pay to use a short stay car park.

Roger Tate, 69, of Bramhope, says when his wife collected him from the airport it cost £2 for seven minutes in the car park.

He added: "There was a family there who didn't have any money - we had to give them some money to get out."

Mr Tate said other airports did not charge for dropping off and picking up, and he accused Leeds Bradford of taking advantage of the situation.

"I know loads of people who have had to pay," he said. "It does seem strange that some people are having to pay and some are not."

Mr Tate said he had been reliably informed that the security restrictions would become permanent, and he is calling on the airport to rethink its car parking policy.

"If you go back a few years Leeds had an area in the car park where you could pick up and drop off and it was free," he said.

"They need the area back that used to be there. It seems wrong that you have to pay to pick up someone or drop them off."

But the allegation of deliberate profiteering was denied by a spokeswoman for the airport.

She said drop-off and pick-up traffic was directed by staff to a short stay car park and was automatically given ten minutes free parking.

"When they go in through the barrier they get a ticket and when they go to the exit it will let them out without charge if it is less that ten minutes," she said. "I don't know why they are being charged for seven minutes."

She said she would pass on Mr Tate's comments to the customer services manager and said it might be necessary to look at the issue of car park information signs.

She added: "Unfortunately as to how long it is going to go on for, we have to take our instructions from the Department of Transport. At the moment they are not saying how long it might last.

"So we are working very closely with them to try to put something in place if it is going to be a permanent thing.

"We are hoping it is not going to be permanent but it is very difficult for us to predict."

She added: "We are starting improvements to the terminal at the end of this summer. So all this sort of thing will be looked at in the planning process."