3 month trial for new parking initiatives at airport

01 September 2010

2 new customer service initiatives, aimed at easing traffic congestion and public safety around the arrivals terminal, are being introduced at Jersey Airport.  

As part of a 3-month trial to gauge public demand, an area alongside the access road to the departure terminal has been designated as a free drop-off / pick-up zone, with a maximum wait of 10 minutes. It is hoped that drivers will use this facility as an alternative to parking on the bus stop or stopping to pick-up passengers on the exit roads, which has been a cause of concern in terms of road safety.

Jersey Airport also hopes to ease congestion in front of the arrivals terminal by relocating the booked private hire cabs to the short stay car park, which will improve access for clients who currently have to walk across a busy exit road. This initiative will come into effect from Friday 1 October 2010. 

Jersey Airport has been aware for some time of the need to improve access in this area. Assistant Minister for Economic Development, Senator Paul Routier, said “For arriving passengers, especially those with luggage trolleys, the current layout is awkward, doesn’t create a good first impression and we have had a number of near-misses in recent times with passengers having to negotiate their way around oncoming traffic. By relocating this pre-booked area, passengers will now have just a short, clearly defined walk to reach their pre-booked cab."  

The central parking zone will remain as a holding area for public taxis to park before collecting passengers from the public taxi rank. The marked bays for delivery and emergency services vehicles will also remain in this area.

Signposts will be installed outside the arrivals terminal advising airport users of the new layout.