I dropped off some friends at London Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon, but whereas most airport terminals have a road/drop-off zone built right in front of the terminal, London Southend Airport doesn't. The only official option is the drop off zone which is situated within the short stay car park. Admittedly, this is opposite the terminal, but just got me wondering why a road wasn't built in front of the terminal? Surely that would have been more convenient?

8herveg wrote:

I dropped off some friends at London Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon, but whereas most airport terminals have a road/drop-off zone built right in front of the terminal, London Southend Airport doesn't. The only official option is the drop off zone which is situated within the short stay car park. Admittedly, this is opposite the terminal, but just got me wondering why a road wasn't built in front of the terminal? Surely that would have been more convenient?

I seem to remember it is the same at NCL, you have to enter the car park to drop off, as long as you leave again within 5 minutes or so it is free, only taxis and buses can access the road in front of the terminal.

Same at Cardiff too.

AJCNL wrote:

8herveg wrote:

I dropped off some friends at London Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon, but whereas most airport terminals have a road/drop-off zone built right in front of the terminal, London Southend Airport doesn't. The only official option is the drop off zone which is situated within the short stay car park. Admittedly, this is opposite the terminal, but just got me wondering why a road wasn't built in front of the terminal? Surely that would have been more convenient?

I seem to remember it is the same at NCL, you have to enter the car park to drop off, as long as you leave again within 5 minutes or so it is free, only taxis and buses can access the road in front of the terminal.

At least NCL actually has a road in front of the terminal for some forms of transport - taxis and buses. Southend doesn't even have that. There is no physical road, it is a patch of grass!

Why have they designed it like this though?

Revenue opportunity

Quite a few British airports are like this - Norwich has a drive through road which is blocked off, you need to go through the short stay, as does Bristol...

Same at Shannon I believe

Arion640 wrote:

Same at Cardiff too.

Cardiff has a drop off zone but its controlled by barriers. You don't have to go through the car park.

Wow, didn't realise so many airports had this design. Not really much of a revenue opportunity if the first 15 minutes in the drop off zone in the short stay car park is free...

8herveg wrote:

Wow, didn't realise so many airports had this design. Not really much of a revenue opportunity if the first 15 minutes in the drop off zone in the short stay car park is free...

It does cut down on congestion, at least at those airports where the short stay carpark issues a ticket at the entry barrier - too often people doing the dropping off would see the traveler into the terminal building, and often use the dropoff zone as short stay parking. You need to employ staff to be able to control that, issue parking fines or warnings.

Forcing dropoff traffic through the barrier controlled short stay carpark solves these issues...

moo wrote:

8herveg wrote:

Wow, didn't realise so many airports had this design. Not really much of a revenue opportunity if the first 15 minutes in the drop off zone in the short stay car park is free...

It does cut down on congestion, at least at those airports where the short stay carpark issues a ticket at the entry barrier - too often people doing the dropping off would see the traveler into the terminal building, and often use the dropoff zone as short stay parking. You need to employ staff to be able to control that, issue parking fines or warnings.

Forcing dropoff traffic through the barrier controlled short stay carpark solves these issues...

True, hadn't thought of that.

8herveg wrote:

I dropped off some friends at London Southend Airport on Sunday afternoon, but whereas most airport terminals have a road/drop-off zone built right in front of the terminal, London Southend Airport doesn't. The only official option is the drop off zone which is situated within the short stay car park. Admittedly, this is opposite the terminal, but just got me wondering why a road wasn't built in front of the terminal? Surely that would have been more convenient?

If it's anything like Bristol then it's a cynical and deliberate plan to force you to pay for the car park.

Because of security mainly. Remember the incident at Glasgow Airport where a car drove into the terminal building. I believe most airports changed their layouts following that. I can remember when you used to be able to drop off directly outside the terminal at Bristol.

Both Belfast airports are the same, there's roads in front but they were bollarded off after the Glasgow incident and short stay drop off pick up points built about 40/50 metres from the terminal.

Both LTN and STN removed the free passenger drop off facility a few years back. LGW North terminal move dit away from the terminal entrance.
The only UK airport I regularly use that allows drop off in front of the terminal for free is LHR. I have yet to find a foreign airport that doesn't allow it.
It can't be security or LHR would ban it as well. Its just another money making opportunity.

Same in Berlin Schönefeld (SXF), drop-off zone is the short-stay car park, you can use it 15 minutes for free...

It's because of security since Glasgow airport, a lot of airports are like this, I guess LHR was just to difficult and too busy to make the parking available and practical for the amount of traffic passing through the terminals, it is a security thing but it isn't a "legal" requirement, and while it resolves a security issue they can make money jumping off the back of it, two birds one stone!

Bongodog1964 wrote:

Both LTN and STN removed the free passenger drop off facility a few years back. LGW North terminal move dit away from the terminal entrance.
The only UK airport I regularly use that allows drop off in front of the terminal for free is LHR. I have yet to find a foreign airport that doesn't allow it.
It can't be security or LHR would ban it as well. Its just another money making opportunity.

Security wise, for Terminal 4 the dropoff area is set back from the terminal, security isnt an issue there. Terminal 5 has a vertical drop between the drop off area and the terminal, and Terminal 2&3 has significant barriers between the road and the terminals.

You have to look historically, when airport was first designed and built people did not get 'dropped off' as only the well heeled could afford to fly so arrived by car. Latterly the airport was predominantly a cargo hub and maintenance facility with little to no revenue passenger flights, it is only in recent years it's popularity with schedule passengers has taken, so effectively the airport was never designed for today's aviation world and would need considerable investment to bring it up to standard, it does not even have a single jetway! but they still call it international

hobbsieoz wrote:

Because of security mainly. Remember the incident at Glasgow Airport where a car drove into the terminal building. I believe most airports changed their layouts following that. I can remember when you used to be able to drop off directly outside the terminal at Bristol.

I base my statement on how First (the operator) has handled the transport and parking there not only for the public but also all the various airport service contractors and their employees. The parking situation has been getting progressively worse for everyone...

Once upon a time you could be dropped in front or park just round the corner - now airport workers have to arrive more than half an hour before their shift or they could miss the staff bus from the car park on the other side of the runway (they're recently forbidden from using the more regular passenger buses) and the same again at the end of their shift. That's maybe an unpaid extra hour per day wasted!

bendewire wrote:

You have to look historically, when airport was first designed and built people did not get 'dropped off' as only the well heeled could afford to fly so arrived by car. Latterly the airport was predominantly a cargo hub and maintenance facility with little to no revenue passenger flights, it is only in recent years it's popularity with schedule passengers has taken, so effectively the airport was never designed for today's aviation world and would need considerable investment to bring it up to standard, it does not even have a single jetway! but they still call it international

I do understand what you're saying, but the terminal, roads and car parks surrounding it, was opened only 5 years ago so they definitely could have implemented a drop off zone outside the terminal into the design.

This is a government edict and classic gate closed after horse has bolted approach to security.

Post the 30 June 2007, bungled Glasgow Airport terminal ram raid, the Home Office instructed that ALL terminal front drop off roads be permanently closed off at UK airports.
New build terminal facilities can not have terminal front drop off roads in any approved design.

Oh, don't start that Red Zone crap with me, Betty!

Jerry123 wrote:

Arion640 wrote:

Same at Cardiff too.

Cardiff has a drop off zone but its controlled by barriers. You don't have to go through the car park.

True. But you can't exactly drop off in front of the terminal as it has that small area for drop off to the side.