Airport brings in £10 flyers' fee

The £10 needs to be paid in order to get into the departure lounge

Passengers travelling from Blackpool Airport now have to pay an additional £10 charge to fly.

The Airport Development Fee (ADF), payable at the airport, was introduced on Monday for all departing passengers over the age of 16.

The money will be put towards a £2m investment project to upgrade the runways and passenger facilities, and attract new airlines.

Free parking for up to 15 days has also been introduced at the airport.

Third airport

David Kershaw, Chief Executive of Blackpool International, said he was confident of attracting more passengers despite the charge because of the free parking offer.

The scheme has the backing of Blackpool Council, but Ryanair decided to axe its daily flights to Dublin and its Girona service in protest.

Aer Arann will replace the route between Blackpool and Dublin.

A spokeswoman for the airport said all airlines flying from Blackpool were consulted before the ADF and free parking schemes were introduced.

Passengers pay the ADF fee at a ticket machine in the main airport terminal and proof of payment is needed to pass through airport security into the departure lounge.

Blackpool is the third UK airport to introduce the charge, after Norwich and Newquay.