Calls to scrap Belfast Airport security levy
18.10.05
Passengers using Belfast's two airports are being charged a security levy which is unique to the province, it was claimed yesterday. The charge, which amounts to an additional £1.05 for every journey out of the province, is added to the cost of each airline ticket.
Flybe's chief commercial officer Mike Rutter said the airlines had no option but to pass on the levy to passengers. He said: 'To the best of my knowledge Belfast City and Belfast International are the only two airports in the UK where this charge is levied. We see it as a penalty for passengers and cannot understand why it should continue to apply in a situation in which the security situation has largely been normalised.'
It is understood that the charge is designed to cover the additional cost of security screening for members of the public entering the terminal building. Belfast City and Belfast International are the only airports in the UK where passengers and their baggage are subject to a security search at the terminal entrance.
A spokesman for Belfast International said: 'The additional screening is an Northern Ireland Office (NIO) requirement. We have requested on several occasions over the years that it should be lifted, but we are still in ongoing discussions with the authorities on the subject.'
A spokesman for Belfast City said: 'We are simply complying with the regulations as laid down by the Department of Transport and the NIO.'
Lord Laird, the Ulster Unionist peer, is pursuing the matter at Westminster. In a written question, he is asking the Government at which UK airports airlines are required to pay a security levy.
Lord Laird said: 'I understand this charge was introduced after 9/11 but I am led to believe that now it applies to just the two Belfast airports. If this is the case I would be most concerned. At the present time, the security threat to airports in Northern Ireland is certainly no greater than it is in Britain.'
A spokesman for the NIO said: 'Under the Airports Security Act airport authorities are required to provide appropriate security in line with advice provided by the police and the Department of Transport. How they meet this operating cost is a matter for them.'
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