Bosses at Aberdeen Airport have reduced the amount of time drivers are allowed to spend in the drop-off zone to just 10 minutes.
The change has already caught out visitors who have, for a number of years, been used to a 15 minute allowance.
The limit was changed on August 7 – with some users complaining that it was done with little or no warning.
Aberdeen Airport has argued that the tariff change brings it into line with other regional airports – and that £2.50 payment will secure 15 minutes in short stay car parks.
Among those caught out in the first few days of the new regulations was Aberdeen taxi driver Mike Geddes who was hit with an additional charge after he took a little time to “be a gentleman” and help a pensioner in need.
The 61-year-old had taken his taxi into the £2 drop-off zone on Sunday afternoon when his passenger, an older woman, asked him for help with her bags.
Mr Geddes, a driver in the city for more than 11 years, told the woman he would be more than happy to oblige – because he believed the time limit for the dropping off area was still 15 minutes.
He said he only discovered the time period had been reduced when he tried to pay £2 at the barrier, only for it to remain closed.”
The taxi driver eventually had to pay £10 to exit – the full sum for a 30 minute stay.
Mr Geddes said: “I wanted to be a gentleman, as customers expect of taxi drivers, so I helped her and hauled her bags down to the airport, helped her to check-in and went back to my car.
“They changed the times without consulting anybody. There’s nobody I know of in the industry who had been informed of the changes.”
He added: “15 minutes was plenty to feel comfortable offering assistance to disabled customers but now, thanks to this new ten minute limit, there’s no way I would be able to get them out of the car, into the airport, sort them out, and get back to the car in time.
“The airport has now forced taxi drivers like me into a position where we have to choose between helping people in need and face some additional costs, or just not offer any assistance at all.”
A spokeswoman for the airport said: “The changes were made to the time band for the first tariff on August 7 and are in line with other regional airport drop-off areas, allowing up to 10 minutes for a quick drop-off transaction only.
“Drivers can pick up and park in the short stay car park for 15 minutes for £2.50, if more time is required.
“The majority of users of the drop-off zone are in and out of the area within five minutes.”
