An Aberdeen man has hit out at the long waiting times for a taxi at the airport.
Rick Steen claims he had to wait 40 minutes in the queue, which is in a tunnel, in the heat after arriving back from Birmingham last Thursday.
With temperatures soaring across the north-east last week, he said passengers were struggling in the heat and getting “ratty” as the wait went on.
He described standing in the tunnel in the 27C heat as being like “getting microwaved from the inside out”.
After landing and collecting his luggage at the conveyor belt, he said all the passengers began “rushing towards the taxi tank at the same time”.
Aberdeen International Airport manages its own taxi service and currently has a fleet of 75 cars, but acknowledged that it can be challenging at peak times – like it is for other providers.
Earlier this year, bosses said recruiting more drivers was a priority.
But Mr Steen – who travels regularly to Manchester, Bristol, Dublin, Hamburg and Belfast – is unconvinced, and says the long waiting times are only a problem at Aberdeen Airport.
“The conditions when you are waiting in the tunnel were horrific”, Mr Steen said.
“There is no air coming in.”
‘Everyone was absolutely raging’
The heat was getting to passengers, and despite people “doing the polite British thing”, Mr Steen said the atmosphere in the queue began to get more difficult.
He said people would get out of the tunnel for some air, but would then worry they would lose their place in the queue.
“Everyone was absolutely raging and hot”, he said.
“People were getting a bit ratty. Everyone was just annoyed.”
After 40 minutes, Mr Steen managed to get his neighbour to drive out and collect him after paying the £5 collection fee.
‘No other airport has this issue’
Mr Steen, 45, who works in the north-east offshore crane industry, often travels by air as part of his job.
Mr Steen said he would take his car and park it at the airport but does not want to pay the fees. It costs from £70 to £100 to park at the airport for a week.
The airport has been running its own taxi service since June 2018, with airport chiefs at the time saying that it would allow them to “manage it more closely”.
Prior to this, Comcab had been the airport’s taxi operator.
What does Aberdeen Airport say?
A spokesman for Aberdeen International Airport said: “We are committed to providing the best possible taxi service to our customers, and we continuously strive to improve our operations.
“With a team of 75 dedicated taxi drivers, we offer great new driver financial incentives and attractive recruitment incentives to ensure a reliable and efficient service.
“Additionally, our rigid shift system guarantees taxis for every arriving flight, minimising waiting times.
“However, like any customer service industry, we face challenges during peak periods. Factors such as unknown passenger drop-offs and flight schedule changes can occasionally lead to increased demand and queues.
“We want to emphasize that this is not unique to our service; it is a common occurrence in any city firm or taxi rank during busy times.”
The spokesman continued: “It’s important to recognize the scale of our operations. Even a journey from the airport to the city centre at 11pm involves a 13-mile, 45-minute round trip, considering that we serve the entire north-east these journey times can be much longer.
“Nonetheless, we are constantly striving to maximize our resources and optimize our operations to ensure the highest level of customer service.”
Conversation