Trolley charges under consideration
07.07.10
Belfast International Airport has refused to rule out plans to charge customers for using luggage trolleys, the Belfast Telegraph reports. Its passengers could be hit by a tariff of at least £1 to use a trolley before the end of this year, the newspaper reports 'industry insiders have claimed.'
Belfast International's Spanish owners, Abertis, introduced a £1 trolley charge at another of its airports, Luton, in 2008. Last week the company operating trolley concession doubled the fees to £2. The new levy is non-refundable.
A spokeswoman for Belfast International declined to rule out a fee for baggage trolleys, adding that ‘all aspects of the business’ are constantly reviewed. She told the newspaper: ‘Trolley charging is an area that we have looked into, however no decision has been made regarding this.'
The new charge is tipped to be rolled out across a number of other airports. Simon Calder, travel editor at the Independent, said: ‘If the system works at other Abertis-owned airports, why wouldn’t they consider operating it in Belfast? It seems likely that trolley charges will follow in the wake of drop-off charges and fast-track security charges.'
‘The proliferation of low-fare airlines means passengers should expect to pay for more and more services - especially given the shortfall in airport spending and passenger numbers.’
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