Airport parking fines 'may be unenforceable'

A solicitor has warned hefty private car park fines incurred at an airport could be "unenforceable" after concerns were raised by a customer.

Lorna Howarth said she was given a "nonsense" £100 fine from car park contractor VCS after she stopped for 56 seconds to ask for directions at Bristol Airport in May.

VCS said Mrs Howarth had driven her vehicle “the wrong way down a one-way road and parked it against the flow of traffic".

Bristol Airport has cancelled the fine as a gesture of goodwill, but legal expert Gary Rycroft has questioned whether the couple did in fact “breach any bylaws".

Ms Howarth said she had gone to pick up her friend from the coach stop at the airport, but was faced with lots of new signs at the airport directing her to a new multi-storey car park for long stays.

"I thought, 'oh gosh I’m just picking up somebody - where do I go?'," she said.

"I saw a camera van behind me, I stopped the car, leapt out and went to his window and the man grumpily told me there was another short stay [car park] to the left."

She said the entire episode lasted 56 seconds.

"I stopped for a genuine reason to ask for help. No one got into the car or in and out with their luggage.

"I then went to the short stay car park and I have proof that I paid £6 to park there for 20 minutes."

A VCS spokesperson added: "We do not consider this was an appropriate or safe location to check for directions, particularly as she had just passed the entrance to the multi-story car park which she could have used without a pre-booking."

Ms Howarth said she later received a letter from VCS stating she had "parked for an unreasonable length of time" which they said was for 56 seconds, and she was being fined £100.

"This is nonsense. I’m fairly well put together and I’m very cross and I will not pay," she added.

The fine was increased to £170 after Ms Howarth refused to pay.

VCS's legal representatives have been in contact with her to warn the issue would be taken to court.

They have since offered her a deal - a reduced rate fine of £130.

Mr Rycroft, who is regularly used as a legal expert on TV shows and in newspapers, said it is "very" important that airports are allowed to regulate what goes on within their grounds and for them to "have their own bylaws".

"But it's also important that airports play by the rules of fairness," he added.

"They've been given great powers and they should use those powers fairly and correctly.

"Have any bylaws been breached? And even if they have, has their so-called fine been issued by some person or some company that has the authority to issue a fine?

"If the airport can't prove those two things, then I would say there is doubt around the enforceability of the so-called fine that Lorna received."

A Bristol Airport spokesperson said: “Because Mrs Howarth was genuinely trying to find the correct car park and did purchase a parking ticket, as a gesture of goodwill we have cancelled the parking charge notice and would like to offer our sincere apologies.

"Bristol Airport has numerous signs around the site including at the Airport entrance and along the roadways, stating no stopping, dropping or picking up.

“We’d like to remind all customers, if they are unsure where to park, to visit our website to help plan their journey."

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