Members of the public are being invited to a debate in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow evening on the Edinburgh Airport drop-off charge.
MSPs from every party, including SNP Minister for Transport Stewart Stevenson, are expected to be in attendance after Lothians MSP Gavin Brown gathered support across the political spectrum against the planned £1 charge.
Now Edinburgh Airport has confirmed to Guardian Edinburgh that it too will be sending a representative to the 5pm talks at Holyrood.
The motion being made at Parliament tomorrow can be read in full by clicking this link.
Since launching the "Drop-off Rip Off" online petition in July, the Conservative MSP has convinced 5,000 people to add their names to the list.
Mr Brown has continued to man stalls in the city centre highlighting the issue, calling on people to reject the charge as "just plain mean."
The airport's new managing director Kevin Brown insisted recently that BAA will press ahead with introducing the charge. Construction on the new drop off area is ongoing and scheduled to open next month.
Mr Brown has emailed constituents who pledged their support, urging them to attend the Holyrood debate tomorrow.
He said:
"My constituents are deeply unhappy about BAA's decision to charge drivers £1 to simply drop someone off at the airport. This drop-off tax is ridiculous and an unfair charge to airport users.
For a lot of people getting public transport to the airport is not a viable option. I have been contacted by elderly residents and constituents with young children who don't have an alternative to getting to the airport. I would urge Edinburgh Airport to listen to their passengers and reverse their decision as soon as possible."
In his email, Mr Brown suggested he is expecting a large turn out from the public.
He wrote:
"You do not normally need to book tickets in advance for Thursday evening debates but it might be safer to do so (there is no charge for tickets.) To book a ticket you can call Visitor Services on 0131 348 5200 or my colleague Aris Wilson on 0131 348 6931. Thanks again and I hope to see you there for the debate."
A spokesman confirmed Edinburgh Airport will be represented at the meeting. But he insisted nobody had put forward any viable alternatives to the fee, which will pay for "excellent facilities."
The airport spokesman said:
"We believe that our solution to solve drop off issues at Edinburgh Airport by retaining a free drop off area whilst providing another increased capacity area close to the terminal is the best given the space and capital constraints we face.
"Like many businesses we've had to make tough decisions on how we offer our services to our customers. By seeking return on investment in this way, we can continue to attract routes to Edinburgh and deliver what our customers want - a diverse choice of routes and excellent facilities.
"We have repeatedly asked critics of the scheme for alternative solutions to ours but none have been forthcoming. We'll be monitoring the debate with interest to see if any alternatives are put forward."
The airport recently answered your questions in a Q and A session. But will the Parliamentary debate tomorrow make any difference? Have your say below.
