Parking costs set to spiral at Aldergrove

I am due to fly to Malaga soon from Belfast International Airport but had not pre-booked car parking because I thought it was £6 per day as it was before christmas and for a 4 night stay I expected to pay £24 but, thankfully, my daughter advised me to pre-book so that I wouldn't be caught out by an exorbitant parking fee.

I did check the Belfast International web site but nowhere does it show the parking rates - if you click the tab for parking it takes you straight to pre-booking. It's a real con that they don't show the rates and I would have thought morally if not legally wrong.

This price hike is one of the things that our local politicians should be sorting out, instead of squabbling amongst themselves, it should also have been given more coverage by local news channels and newspapers so that people do not get ripped off again.

I will be paying £24 but I get the impression that this is for a week's parking and not just the few days that I will be away.

On searching I found the article below in the Belfast Telegraph.

Belfast Telegraph: Friday, December 22, 2006
Robin Morton

Car parking charges at Belfast International Airport are set to rise by up to 50% in the New Year, passengers were warned today.

The airport said franchise operator Q-Park was introducing new pricing structures from January 3 to encourage more holidaymakers to pre- book.

Those facing the biggest increases are motorists who turn up on spec at the long-stay car park - they will pay £42 per week instead of £28 at present.

Holidaymakers who pre-book by phone or the internet will pay £24 for a week's parking against £21 at present - up 14.3%.

In the short-stay car park, the first 15 minutes will still be free but the charge for up to 30 minutes goes up by 7% from £1.40 to £1.50.

In the main stay car park, the charge for a day's parking rises by 13% from £8.40 to £9.50. (A year ago I believe it was £3 per day)

An airport spokeswoman said the re-structuring was geared towards ensuring that passengers used the car park best suited to the length of their stay. (Now isn't that thoughtful)

John Doran, the BIA managing director, said the price increase came in advance of a £100,000 investment by Q-Park in a new pre-booking system. (Which is probably the real reason for the price hike)

But he insisted some parking rates were still lower than they had been before Dublin-based Q-Park took control of the airport car parks in January this year.

He said: "This move is aimed at providing some of the best value airport parking in the island of Ireland. Some 93% of passengers using the short-stay car park will be unaffected or better off than they were in 2005."