Airport Increases Fees

2008-06-12

How do you feel about paying just to be allowed to leave an airport and fly out?

Norwich airport has increased a fee it charges to every person who departs from the airport.

And that has prompted Flybe - one of the biggest airlines using the Norfolk airport - to warn that passengers may desert it and instead choose to fly from Stansted.

Every person who flies out of Norwich is charged an “airport development fee” which from September will be £5 for adults - up from the present price of £3.

The £1 rate for children remains unchanged.

The fee was introduced in April 2007 to help make improvements to the runway, check-in areas, shops, parking and customer services as part of a five-year £18 million investment plan.

Norwich Airport was sold in 2003 to investment group Omniport for £11m by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council.

But Flybe has warned the airport that customers will not appreciate the increase.

A spokesman said: “"Flybe is concerned that this action will give passengers a further reason to choose to fly from Stansted rather than Norwich.

"We call upon Omniport to urgently review and overturn this ill-advised decision."