PEOPLE dropping off friends or relatives at Southampton Airport will have to pay £1 for a maximum 10-minute stay from September.

The charge will apply at a new “priority drop-off and pick-up area” to be created as part of a number of changes to be made to parking facilities at the airport.

The airport’s existing free pick-up and drop-off area will move to the long-stay car park and will offer 30 minutes of free parking.

Passengers can catch the airport shuttle bus from the free drop-off area down to the main terminal.

The shuttle journey takes around three to five minutes and the bus runs every 10-12 minutes, according to the airport.

Airport management say that move is aimed at raising revenue rather than easing any congestion at the drop-off point.

It has been introduced following a “full review” of all the airport’s facilities.

Money raised from the new changes will be invested in improving services at the growing airport where annual passenger numbers are expected to hit the two million mark in the near future.

Neil Garwood, the airport’s head of operations, said “Passengers will still have the option to use our free pick-up and drop-off area in our long stay car park. With many new airlines and new routes being announced over the past year, it is anticipated that passenger numbers will increase which comes with a responsibility to improve facilities to maintain our current high standards.”

Clive Johnson, of the Southampton Trade Association, which represents more than 400 hackney cab and private hire vehicle drivers in the city, welcomed the changes.

“In principal this sounds like a good idea and it should eliminate congestion at the drop-off area,” he said.

He said the charge would not impact his members as it would be passed on to the passengers.

However Radio Taxis director Perry McMillan, whose firm employs 450 drivers, called for an exemption for taxis.

He said: “We’re in a tip-driven industry where it will hit our earnings. It’s just an inconvenience all round.

“We’re all proud to have an airport and it brings in a lot of work to everyone, but let’s have a process where they appreciate we’re bringing their customers to them and getting them home safely.”

Payment at the priority area will be made at the barrier on leaving by depositing cash in a coin bucket, similar to those at the Itchen Bridge toll booths, or by contactless card payment. Alternatively, visitors can exit their vehicle and buy a ticket at a machine.

Bournemouth Airport scrapped its free 10-minute waiting period in 2011 and has no free parking provision. In April it raised the cost of the first 30 minutes parking to £3.