Sydney Airport under fire over $97 million parking profit last year
SYDNEY Airport is pocketing millions from put-upon passengers forced to shell out for the most expensive carpark of its kind in the country.
NSW
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SYDNEY Airport is pocketing millions from put-upon passengers forced to shell out for the most expensive carpark of its kind in the country.
New figures show the airport made a whopping $97 million profit from car parking fees last year.
An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report has revealed the depth of the gouge, showing it cost airport bosses just 28c in every dollar it took to run the carparks, with the remaining 72c pocketed as profit.
“The car parking fees at Sydney Airport are completely excessive,” ACCC chief Rod Sims said.
The airport also made a $360 million profit from the passenger fees it charged the airlines — billing the airlines $18.30 for every one of its 42.7 million passengers. Passenger numbers are up more than 7 per cent on last year.
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“They are ... by far the highest in comparison to any other Australian airport,” Mr Sims said.
Sydney Airport parking is the most expensive in Australia, costing on average $75 to leave the car for just three days.
“Booking online with Sydney Airport cut just a miserly $7 off the price to $68.
The ACCC’s annual airport monitoring report said Sydney Airport’s total profit was almost $460 million.
“Hopefully Badgerys Creek airport will put some competitive pressure on them but it is some way off,” Mr Sims said.
The report also suggested the limit on the number of aircraft movements per hour imposed “significant costs” on users and called for the rules to be reviewed.
Despite the giant profits the report found Sydney and Melbourne airports were merely rated “satisfactory” for their quality of service compared to Brisbane and Perth, which were “good”.
Nancy Prospero, 31 drove to the airport from Prestons with her daughter Alexia, 3, to drop off her parents for their first overseas trip in 40 years.
She was horrified the 90 minutes she spent there cost her $27.
“I can understand why people choose to drop off their friends and relatives to the front of departures instead of driving in and spending time saying goodbye,” Ms Prospero said.
But a Sydney Airport spokesman said it provided options such as free 15-minute parking, online discounts and “other modes of transport” so passengers could avoid parking fees.
He said passenger revenue reflected the fact Sydney was the country’s largest and busiest airport.
The spokesman said “current policy settings” also imposed “significant costs” on users.