Hial announce new concessions ahead of car parking charges
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) has announced new concessions and exemptions ahead of the introduction of car parking charges.
The airport authority says it will work with the NHS to ensure patients can park for free when flying to and from appointments.
HIAL says it will complement a compassionate travel policy already used by Loganair with free parking for passengers travelling under the terms of the policy.
And Hial says free parking will be made available at Sumburgh and Orkney airports for the use of inter-island travellers.
Inter-island residents can apply to the relevant airport to register one vehicle per household as part of the scheme.
Meanwhile, Blue Badge holders will be able to park free of charge.
Hial are also offering an extension of the drop off/pick up period from one to two hours to mitigate any flight delays.
Hial’s managing director Inglis Lyon, said: “We have met and consulted with a range of stakeholders since we announced our intention to charge for parking in March, and from the outset of those discussions we were keen to listen to the views of the communities involved and reflect their views in the way the charges were implemented.”
• Full story in Friday’s Shetland Times.
Linsey Nisbet
By inter-island travellers, do they mean people living in the isles? Wow!! I can see an influx of folk coming to live in Yell!!
I cannot see that this will go down well with the residents of, say, Hillswick, or Walls for instance…..it’s still a LONG, expensive taxi ride for them, with no direct bus service.
And imagine the paperwork involved in this nonsensical scenario!
I am so gobsmacked that my grammar has failed me!
S V Jolly
Re inter-island, do HIAL mean this is just for travellers from Foula, Fair Isle, etc., for when Sumburgh is used as an alternative to Tingwall, etc.? Or do they mean anyone travelling through Sumburgh to mainland Scotland who have originated from one of Shetland’s offshore isles?
The NHS have no right to be agreeing to share MY data and to speak on my behalf re car parking charges. Plus, this hasn’t gone before NHS Shetland Board. NHS Shetland should be charging HIAL for attending their meetings and by doing so, NHS Shetland are now as guilty as HIAL – but hey, why bother having patient liaison (and wonder why nobody uses them) when you just blatantly assume you have the right to put forward patients’ preferences WITHOUT consulting them? NHS Shetland, you could have told HIAL where to stick it. You chose not to. Complain? You bet I’m going to.
Ditto, Loganair – would you usually pass such data to HIAL? If I park my car, it’s my car. Where’s the NHS, Loganair and HIAL privacy policies in line with the new data protection laws in force from 25 May 2018? Where’s the copies of the data impact assessments? The idea that the ticket code will be shared with HIAL and then Security, that ticket code being unique to those travelling for NHS appointments is abhorrent. Why not just tattoo on my head “Hi, I’m a sicko and going to hospital?”