Airport Parking News

www.Parctel.com: We recently highlighted the human trafficking that takes place at Gatwick Airport - Women for sale in the Gatwick slave auctions - and are pleased to report that Edinburgh Airport Parking attendants have received training to help them spot human trafficking.

Labour's Ann McKechin (Glasgow N) told the House of the training given to parking attendants at Edinburgh airport to help them spot people traffickers.

They then fed the information to police to help crack down on the trade, she said.

Tory Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth E) said: "Let us not forget that slavery takes many forms and despite the progress in removing the legitimate and overt forms of slavery it is now the illegitimate and covert exploitation of slavery that still exists."

Democratic Unionist Sammy Wilson (Antrim E) told MPs slavery was a "blemish" on the UK's history and was important to be remembered as part of the history of the UK.

EDINBURGH Airport has enjoyed a near-doubling in private jet usage over the past five years as time pressures and increased security for scheduled flights push more executives to use what was previously seen as an indulgence.

The number of private jet movements at BAA's three Scottish airports increased by 50% to 7,319 between 2001 and 2006, according to the airport operator.

Edinburgh saw the fastest increase with an 84% rise. It is the base for local business leaders such as Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin as well as visiting tycoons and dignitaries including Bill Gates and Prince Andrew.

Glasgow enjoyed a 35% rise in private jet landings over the period, but business at Aberdeen was flat despite a few recent visits from Donald Trump, the US property tycoon who plans to build a golf course near the city.

Private jet users can circumvent the usual lengthy security queues and fly directly to their chosen destination, a bonus in Scotland where journeys too often include a change at one of London's busy airports.

But the convenience comes at a price. A typical private operator would charge about £4,500 to fly from Edinburgh to Paris, compared to a British Airways business class fare of £500.

NetJets, the private jet company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway group, recently revealed plans to set up a staffed base at Aberdeen airport. The company has licences to fly to 16 other Scottish airports including Islay and Edinburgh.

A NetJets spokesman said the rise in private jet usage had been prompted by concerns about falling service standards on budget and mainstream airlines, and the inconvenience of tightening security measures: "Every time an important individual gets stuck at a Scottish airport, he's thinking maybe I should be spending the extra money flying privately.

"Once, the private jet was what you would do if you were the kind of person who wasted money. Now because of the time savings involved it is the fiscal conservative who is using private jets."

Source: The Scotsman

www.Parctel.com: City and business leaders in the capital today hailed Edinburgh Airport’s growing international route network, as airport operator BAA unveiled its final 2007 schedule, which includes 13 new direct services.

BAA Edinburgh’s 2007 schedule features new destinations in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, taking the total number of destinations to more than 80 served by more than 40 airlines.

Among the new routes from Edinburgh for 2007 are five new services operated by easyJet to Madrid, Munich, Milan, Dortmund and Palma. Flyglobespan will start a new transatlantic schedule service to Toronto’s Hamilton Airport in May. BMI’s new service to Zurich starts at the end of March and Norwegian Air Shuttle’s service to Oslo begins in April.

Managing Director of Edinburgh Airport, Richard Jeffrey, said: “We listen to what our passengers tell us and we know there is a real desire for people to be able to fly direct from their local airport. That is why I am proud that, with an extra 1.3 million seats on offer this summer, our passengers will have more choice and more flexibility than ever before in flying direct from Edinburgh.

“Our international route network sits at the heart of our country’s economy by strengthening business links and attracting visitors from across the world. For Edinburgh, a city massively dependent on tourism and financial services, the international connectivity provided by the airport keeps the city competitive on the world stage.

“Our focus is to provide an airport that continues to meet the demands of an ever increasing number of passengers and, as always, safety, security and service are our key priorities. Our multi-million pounds investment in security will keep queues and waiting times as low as possible. We will see new food outlets opening soon, giving more choice than ever before. We are also investing in additional aircraft stands to help accommodate extra planes. This is an exciting time at Edinburgh Airport and all of us are looking forward to meeting the challenge that will come with record numbers of passengers.”

City of Edinburgh Council Leader Councillor Ewan Aitken commented: "Airports are increasingly catalysts for economic growth. A strong, successful nation requires its capital city to act as its gateway for business, tourism and investment. It is no coincidence that Edinburgh's transformation into a world-class city of growing international significance has coincided with the rapid expansion of international routes directly serviced from Edinburgh Airport. The 13 new services that BAA Edinburgh has announced will come on stream during 2007 will further propel Edinburgh's reputation as a place to do business."

"I am also pleased that, in a world increasingly concerned with climate change, BAA Edinburgh is proactively introducing measures to protect the environment, to reduce carbon emissions and to ensure that our economy is not grown at the expense of our climate."

Scottish Council for Development and Industry Chief Executive Alan Wilson added: "Connectivity is crucial to the success of the Scottish economy. The major expansion in direct services from Edinburgh to other international financial and industrial centres will be of great benefit to many businesses.

"Whenever you visit Edinburgh Airport, you cannot fail to be impressed by the significant investment in new, modern facilities. These are not only helping to attract aircraft operators, they are providing employment opportunities in the regional economy and a high quality gateway to Scotland for tourists and global industries."

HUMAN rights groups yesterday called for an investigation into Scotland's involvement in "torture flights" after the European Parliament condemned the use of UK airports in the alleged transport of United States prisoners of war.

Prestwick airport, Glasgow International and Edinburgh airport have all been named as stopovers for flights allegedly carrying people accused of terrorism to other countries not bound by human rights codes in the treatment of suspects.

Yesterday, Euro MPs voted to adopt a report condemning the UK's involvement in the so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights. The report, approved in Strasbourg after a year-long inquiry, says more than 1,000 covert flights operated by the CIA flew into European airspace or stopped over at European airports between the end of 2001 and the end of 2005.

The UK government is singled out for co-operating with the CIA in sending three UK residents on rendition fights for questioning in connection with alleged terrorism.

The UK is also one of the three countries, with Germany and Ireland, where the volume of CIA flights was greatest.

At Prestwick, more than 156 US warplanes linked to military intelligence landed during the controversy.

John Watson, Amnesty International's programme director for Scotland, called for an investigation into the country's involvement.

"We call on the Scottish Executive to establish whether Scottish airports have been complicit in the kidnapping, transporting, secret detention and torture of prisoners by allowing CIA rendition flights to land and refuel," he said.

"The UK government has to establish whether its officials have been involved in the extraordinary rendition and torture of prisoners. The government line that it has checked and can find no evidence of complicity with CIA rendition is not good enough.

"Scotland should follow the lead of several European countries in allowing independent investigations into any Scottish involvement with rendition."

Alyn Smith, the SNP MEP, was also concerned at Scotland's involvement.

He said:

"There are still major concerns over what happened at Scotland's airports. We do not know and have not been told. This report does a good job in bringing greater clarity to the issue but does not answer those key questions.

"Once again, I urge the Scottish Executive, in particular those Liberal Democrats in the Executive who freely call for an inquiry in London, to back up their calls with an inquiry into events in Scotland."

Yesterday's report carries no legal weight, and follows a separate report by human rights watchdog the Council of Europe last year, which said the CIA ran a "global spider's web" of rendition flights, with European countries acting as staging posts.

The Scottish Executive insists it is a reserved matter.

Source: The Scotsman

Tenerife Officials at Edinburgh Airport are looking at plans to reduce the cost of on-site parking to cut down on the number of passengers being dropped off and picked up.

These so-called "kiss and fly" passengers make up a quarter of journeys to the airport and bosses want to cut this number to help reduce pollution created by traffic.

Airport officials are currently assessing the best way to do this and to get passengers using public transport or their own cars.

This includes constructing safer car parks around the terminals and reducing the overall cost of airport parking, as well creating new bus routes to connect the airport to Edinburgh city centre.

It is understood that a taxi sharing service is also being considered, which would see passengers returning from destinations such as Palma, Malaga and Tenerife being grouped together for their journey home.

Airport managing director Richard Jeffrey said: "The biggest cause of local air pollution around the airport is not from aircraft but from road traffic travelling to and from the airport."

However, Mr Jeffrey added that great strides had already been made over the last five years to increase the number of people using public transport to travel to Edinburgh.

Source: Airflights

EDINBURGH Airport is to target so-called "kiss and fly" passengers in a bid to get flyers out of their cars and on to public transport.

Just over a quarter of journeys to the city's airport are for passengers being dropped off and picked up by friends or relatives.

Airport bosses want to persuade passengers to cut down on the number of these journeys by either using car parks or public transport.

Officials plan to assess the cost and supply of airport parking and how it influences passenger decisions between public transport, getting a lift from a loved one or taking their own car. This could involve a cut in the price of parking or the building of more secure car parks.

A package of public transport improvements to the airport will be also considered over the next five years, including the possibility of new bus routes to the airport, a bus interchange at the A8, and extending the Edinburgh Shuttle minibus service.

A new taxi share service, which could see passengers being grouped into cabs together, is also being considered.

Airport managing director Richard Jeffrey said: "Over the last five years, we have seen substantial progress in terms of getting more of our passengers to travel to and from the terminal by public transport. The biggest cause of local air pollution around the airport is not from aircraft but from road traffic travelling to and from the airport."

Source: Scotsman.com

THIS month sees the final stages of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link's journey through the Scottish parliamentary process. While progression is not assured, it represents the best opportunity for investment in Scotland's transportation network in decades and will bring many benefits to Scotland's businesses.

Source: Scotsman