DURHAM Tees Valley Airport is introducing new parking arrangements, including no charge for those staying up to three hours.

Peter Nears, Airport Strategic Planning Director, said that the new scheme, which will also allow parking for up to eight hours at £5, was in response to comments received during the recent consultation over the airport’s draft masterplan and also linked in with a bid to attract more businesses to the site.

From Monday February 10, free parking will be available in the main car park for up to three hours, meaning that motorists will no longer need to use the old drop off-pick up area where up to now there has been free parking for just 15 minutes.

Mr Nears, said: “This is quite a different approach to that being taken by many other airport operators. The three hours free parking is a much better deal than is available at many other airports, as is the £5 charge for up to eight hours which we are introducing.

“A number of responses during the masterplan consultation asked us to look at parking charges and that is exactly what we done. It should certainly be of immediate benefit for anyone ‘meeting and greeting’ passengers and in the longer run, as we move forward in our development plans, it should be of real benefit to businesses operating at the airport

“There is the convenience of being able to be so close to the terminal plus the safety and security of a car park which has gained ‘Park Mark’ recognition under the safer scheme managed by the British Parking Association and supported by the police and Government.”