• Purpose built drop-off zone
• New meeting point with live flight information
• Action to curb congestion and emissions
• Improved access from M8

A £2 million plan to improve access, ease congestion and reduce vehicle emissions is underway at Glasgow Airport.
 
The investment will see a new passenger drop-off zone created to the west of the main terminal, replacing the temporary facility in the multi-storey car park, which was introduced after the 2007 terrorist attack.

New arrangements are also being introduced for passenger pick-up, with special provision made for passengers with reduced mobility.

The plan is to ensure passengers dropping-off or picking-up at the airport can do so safely, while also making the experience more user-friendly.

Amanda McMillan, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, said: “This is a plan that looks to the long term, putting in place the infrastructure that will enable Glasgow Airport to continue moving forward.

“We have designed a package of measures that makes it easier for passengers and motorists to access Glasgow Airport, and honours our commitment to support sustainable transport.

“It also delivers an attractive forecourt area and intuitive road network, with the look and feel of a major international airport.”

The plans in full

The changes will start to take effect from Tuesday June 8. The passenger drop-off zone will relocate from its temporary home in the ground floor of the multi-storey car park to a new purpose built facility, a short walk from the terminal.

All passengers arriving by car and being dropped off will be dropped off in this new zone. New walkways will be built and existing roads re-routed to create a dedicated route for passengers on foot.

A canopy will link the new drop-off zone directly to the main terminal, and a new outdoor information hub will be created to provide a meeting point and landmark for passengers and waiting friends and family.

The hub will include information screens showing details of both arriving and departing flights. Help points will also be provided for passengers needing assistance.

Passenger pick-up will revert to the system in place before the 2007 terrorist attack, with private motorists directed to Car Park 1. Outdoor information screens will ensure that anyone picking-up can keep track of arriving flights.

Glasgow Airport’s Planning & Transport Manager Ross Nimmo said: “The new system ensures passengers with flights to catch can be dropped off quickly and easily, while those waiting to pick up can do so in Car Park 1, keeping an eye on the new flight information screens to see when their passengers will arrive.

“It is entirely fair and sensible that motorists waiting for arriving passengers do so in a car park. This way we can manage congestion and minimise the potential disruption to departing passengers.”

For passengers using pre-booked private taxis, a new dedicated pick-up zone will be created in the multi-storey car park, opposite the main terminal.

Passengers using buses and airport licensed taxis are unaffected by the changes and will continue to be picked up from the terminal forecourt.

The plan also includes a new entrance to the multi-storey car park, which can be accessed more quickly and easily from the M8. Passengers using this car park will no longer have to follow the same route used by vehicles that are dropping off or picking up.

The St Andrew’s Drive drop-off point, which was developed as a temporary solution following the terrorist attack, is being transformed into a dedicated cycle route as part of a project to improve provision for cyclists around the airport. The public will no longer be able to pick-up or drop-off in this area.

Special provision has been made to ensure disabled passengers continue to drop off and pick up directly opposite the terminal, with free access for up to 30 minutes.

‘Unsustainable’

The new measures are aligned with the airport’s surface access strategy, which laid out plans to promote public transport use and reduce the volume of private vehicle use. Glasgow has a much lower proportion of passengers using public transport (11%) than Edinburgh Airport (27%).

The plan is also designed to manage the number of passengers being dropped off and picked up - so called ‘kiss and fly’ journeys - which contribute more to congestion and vehicle emissions because they involve four car journeys as opposed to two journeys by public transport.

In 2009, kiss and fly accounted for around four million individual car journeys.

Ross Nimmo added: “The proportion of kiss and fly journeys at Glasgow is high, partially because of the airport’s large catchment area.

“In response, we have been actively working with bus companies to increase choice, and the airport forecourt gives priority to public transport providers to make public transport a more attractive proposition.

“However, we also recognise that a significant number of passengers will still need to travel to the airport by car, and we have done everything we can – within the physical and security constraints we face – to make it easier for passengers to access the airport.

“There is a balance to be struck between increasing the number of people who use public transport, and continuing to ensure that all passengers can access the airport safely and conveniently.

“I am delighted that we now have – for the first time – a dedicated drop-off facility, built with convenience and safety in mind, and a long term plan to improve access, ease congestion and promote public transport.”

‘Investment’

BAA Glasgow is investing £12 million in new facilities this year, as part of a £200 million capital investment over the next ten years.

Amanda McMillan said: “We have a substantial and ongoing capital investment plan in place and these improvements have to be paid for. We can only afford to make this scale of investment if we control our costs, invest wisely and ensure that we make best use of our facilities.”

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