Friday 2 March 2018

Disappointing cull of free drop off time at the airport


 I was disappointed by the announcement that the free drop off period at London Southend Airport is being slashed to a third of what is currently allowed. The free drop off period, currently a quarter of an hour, is being reduced to five minutes. Surely this is a retrograde change?

London Southend Airport provides a pretty decent service, especially to those of us for whom it is but a short journey away. Proximity is an inducement, as is the speedy service one usually encounters. A further encouragement, until now anyway, is the sensible drop off (and pick up) time.

Fifteen minutes allows a leisurely drop off, neatly avoiding the unseemly scramble that is often found at other airports. It also allows for the possibility of picking up those who have arrived. I accept that fifteen minutes is generous, but surely Southend’s USP is the ease of use. Quite why an airport that boasts of being better should now want to emulate other airports is frankly baffling.

I would like to encourage those who have taken this decision to think again. Southenders have every reason to be proud of their airport, let’s not allow this to be spoilt because of a push for a few extra pennies. Of course, finances are important, and the airport has to make a profit, but a short-term gain could be the cause of a long-term loss if we are not careful.

If the airport really wants to see increased passenger numbers it must encourage, not discourage, potential customers. It is often the little things that make a difference and offering a sensible amount of free time to drop off and pick up passengers is but one example of this, in my humble opinion.

2 comments:

  1. There is so much wrong with this blog post.

    Julian's bland acceptance of the massively damaging airport and saying "Southenders have every reason to be proud of their airport" is utter nonsense. Don't forget that it isn't Southenders' airport any more. The council sold it for £1.

    But the key point is that the aircraft, and the extra road traffic that is generated by the airport's presence, are hugely polluting. Far more people suffer from the polluting effects of the airport, whether it is increasing the levels of asthma or contributing to climate change.

    Owen Jones wrote in the Guardian last week that "The Greens' best hope is to sign up with Labour". No it isn't. While the Labour Party still contains dinosaur thinkers like Julian then there is far too little common ground. No matter how good Corbyn appears to be, when your local Labour politicians think like this then the Green Party of England and Wales must remain separate.

    And if Labour want to benefit from the support, and expertise, of forward thinking politicians, then they need to abandon their bad old ways and plan for a future without fossil fuels. There is no future with fossil fuels.

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  2. Peter, It is the cruelty that several members of the local Labour Party display that I cannot stomach. These environmental racists know that hundreds of thousands of the world's poorest people are being killed by climate change, and most of those dying are young children, yet they still support the expansion of the wealthy world's great eco-sin - flying. It is mainly black and Asian kids who are dying and, as the 'Black Lives Matter' campaigners always say - "wealthy white politicians wouldn't allow polluting activities to continue if it were white children dying."

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St Luke's Voice Winter 2018/19 edition