Jamie Webb, who runs Hockley-based Eddies Cars, says the firm has been hit with £1,600 in Southend Airport parking fines in the last year.
He says drivers keep getting caught out by the barrierless Express Pick-up and Drop-off zone. There is an £8 charge to pay online after you leave. Miss that, and the firm has been getting £100 penalty notices. Webb calls it an admin nightmare and says it is going to break the company.
How the charge works
London Southend Airport's own rules are clear. Express Pick-up and Drop-off sits opposite the terminal, next to the Superior car park. There are no barriers and no tickets. You can stop for up to 10 minutes.
Do not pay in advance, and do not try to pay while you are still in the zone. The £8 must be paid online after you leave, by midnight the following day. Miss that deadline and a Parking Charge Notice is issued. Stay longer than 10 minutes and a notice is issued as well. The airport points drivers who need more time to the Superior car park.
An earlier reminder from the airport, reported by the Echo, said some drivers paid the £8 before they left and still received a £100 notice from Vehicle Control Services. The airport said that is the wrong process: pay after you exit.
What the firm wants
Webb says Eddies Cars runs regular airport transfers, including Gatwick and Stansted, where parking can come off a prepaid online account. He wants Southend to offer something similar, like a Dartford Crossing-style account, for local firms making hundreds of airport jobs a year.
He says many customers use the firm for early flights before trains from Hockley start, and that refusing Southend work would cost the business a lot of money. He also says waiting space near the drop-off is tight as destinations grow, and that cars often wait in nearby residential streets.
What the airport says
A Southend Airport spokesman said the new barrierless parking has gone well for most customers, but accepted the rule changes can cause problems and that local taxi firms have raised the issue.
The airport said it has committed to investigating improvements with its contracted operator, Excel Parking Services.
The firm's complaint was reported by the Echo and the Romford Recorder. The airport's Express Pick-up and Drop-off rules are at London Southend Airport.