Driver fined £100 at Edinburgh Airport for pick-up mistake has fine revoked after Evening News stepped in

Sabine Frew, who has had her fine revoked.

AN Edinburgh woman who was stung by a fine of £100 after mistakenly picking up a family member in the wrong area of Edinburgh Airport has thanked the Evening News after the fine was revoked.

Sabine Frew, who spoke to the Evening News in December after she was hit with the fine which dated back to June 2019, successfully appealed her fine after speaking out about the practice in the newspaper.

Mrs Frew had been caught by new cameras installed by the airport as a way to reduce the number of private hire and taxi drivers touting fares.

However, several people were caught out by the new rules, aimed at businesses operating without authorisation, and began receiving their £100 fines in December.

After speaking to the Evening News and appealing her fine, Mrs Frew successfully got her money back.

She said: “I appealed it before Christmas and they said they would get back to me within a month, which didn’t happen.

“I then chased them and it was very difficult to get hold of anybody, but the next thing I knew was that the fine had been revoked and that the matter was closed.

“A lot of people had been in touch with me and I spoke to a few people and many got the same email at the same time.”

Mrs Frew added that without coming to the Evening News she was not sure whether or not she would have been forced to pay the full amount.

She said: “I certainly think coming to the Evening News made a difference and the airport got more messages and there were also people who got their MP involved as well. That pressure definitely helped.

“From what I gather they are trying to crack down on private hire drivers who pick up people from the drop off so they obviously caught a lot of normal drivers who didn’t know that we couldn’t pick up in the drop off area.

“I suspect that they would have made me pay if it had been just me but the fact that it was a number of people helpe, so thank you to the Evening News for helping.”

She added that if people had been hit with the fines, it was worth appealing the charges as they arrived rather than paying.

Mrs Frew said: “There could still be more fines coming and people should definitely appeal if they get one.”

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport, who at the time Mrs Frew received her fine said they were necessary to reduce touting, said they have worked with the parking enforcement company to stop mistakes such as Mrs Frew’s fine being made.

He said: “We have worked with our provider to ensure penalty notices issued to non-business operators have been reviewed and a number of them have been rescinded as a result.

“We remind people to adhere to the rules and only pick up and drop off in the designated areas.

“Unfortunately frequent commercial misuse remains an issue and we will continue to combat taxi touting and tailgating in our drop-off zone as these practices are illegal, unsafe and impact the taxi service at the airport.”