The Telegraph
Date: September 16, 2014
None of the UK’s six busiest airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Edinburgh and Luton – offer unlimited free internet access, according to a study by Skyscanner, the flight comparison website.
By contrast, almost half (24) of Europe’s 50 busiest airports – including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Prague and Rome – do
Heathrow, the UK’s busiest hub with around 72 million passengers each year, offers travellers just 45 minutes’ free access. It then charges £3 for an hour’s access, or £5 for two. Gatwick, which receives 35 million travellers annually, is only a fraction more generous. Passengers can secure 45 minutes’ access free of charge; another hour costs £2.95; two hour’s access is priced at £3.95.
Of Britain’s 10 “main” airports, just two – Birmingham and London City – were found to offer completely free Wi-Fi access.
Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel’s consumer editor, said: “If McDonalds and Starbucks can offer unlimited free Wi-Fi to their customers, who might spend just £2 or less on a coffee, why can’t airports do the same?
“Passengers are already paying to use the airport when they buy a flight ticket, and then pay over the odds for food and drinks while they are there – having to pay again to check your email will leave them feeling understandably frustrated.”
Some airports that charge for Wi-Fi access – including Newquay, Durham, Norwich and Blackpool – also charge an “airport development fee”, Nick pointed out.
Read more:the breathing tax, and other ridiculous airport charges
Our technology expert Donald Strachan added that European airports are particularly prone to the “freemium” policy – where users get a chunk of free online time, after which they must register and pay.
“US airports have already rejected this policy after customers complained,” he said. “According to Devicescape, a Wi-Fi technology and analytics company, 79 per cent of American airports offer free unlimited Wi-Fi, compared with just 26 per cent in Europe.”
The firm highlights Dallas-Fort Worth, Helsinki, Changi in Singapore, Incheon Aiport in Seoul and Amsterdam as the world’s best airports when it comes to fast, reliable and free Wi-Fi.
Read more: the world’s best airports for free Wi-Fi
A spokesman for Heathrow said it was “reviewing” its Wi-Fi offering “while ensuring adequate bandwidth can be provided across the entire airport”.
Passengers at Manchester and Stansted receive a single hour’s free internet access, Skyscanner’s report showed – after which it costs £5. Luton offers just 30 minutes’ access before it charges travellers (£3 for one hour, or £5 for two). Edinburgh provides two hours of free Wi-Fi access.
Just two of Europe’s 50 busiest airports – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen and Berlin Tegel – fail to provide passengers with any free Wi-Fi.
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View the original article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/11098900/UK-airports-under-fire-over-Wi-Fi-charges.html