Airports end kerbside pick-up and drop-off
(CNS): By the end of this month private drivers will no longer be able to drop off or pick up passengers at the kerb in front of the Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) on Grand Cayman and the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA) on Cayman Brac. From 30 August, only authorised taxis and buses will be allowed to take travellers right up to the entrance for departures or collect them in front of arrivals at the two airports.
A release from the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) said that this was part of the “new Airport Landside Security requirement”.
From Monday, 30 August, all private vehicles will be routed to the short- or long-term parking lots, where the parking fees will be waived through to the end of September. From the beginning of October, the standard parking fees will apply.
However, a drop-off zone in the short-term parking lot will be allocated for those persons dropping off departing passengers. Drivers who are picking up arriving passengers must also park in the short-term parking lot. Parking will be free for up to five minutes, after which time the standard parking rates will apply.
“These changes in traffic flows have been implemented in the United Kingdom and in some overseas territories to reduce risk and improve airport security,” said Chief Airport Security Officer Chad Yates. “Keeping our customers safe is our number one priority, and these new measures in the way in which vehicles can now travel in and out of the airport have been put in place with airport security at the forefront of our minds.”
He added, “As airport security continues to evolve globally, we are committed to mitigating risk and providing an excellent airport experience. We recognise these changes will impact our customers, but our goal is to minimise the impact while ensuring a safe and secure environment.”
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Category: Local News, Travel
Common sense isn’t common any longer.
Now we know just how stupid they are. I wonder if any other non military airport in the world won’t let you drive up to it. Talk about dysfunctional. Next is a resurgence in donkey carts on the roads. Back to third world roots.
Maybe the new cayman regiment will patrol a military side separated from a civilian side too
Yep most airports are now not allowing kerbside drop offs etc. I suggest you do some research
Most airports with kerbside access vehicle restrictions allow private vehicles to drop off passengers kerbside. A larger portion of the restrictions relates to picking up passengers since that involves a much longer period of time waiting kerbside than does dropping off passengers.
Yep. I suggest you do some research
I’ve got a better idea. Make the taxi thieves park over by Fosters play ground and let everyone else use the 3 lanes and access roads.
Get with it you morons….. Have cell phone waiting area down the road!
WHAT A JOKE!
Why can you drive up to pickup/ drop off at US Airports?
You are making this up! It would not be possible to get in and out of the short term for free when you have to go inside to pay / access the exit ticket.
I suggest you research U.K. airports . This is an overseas territory not a US one
Check the U.K. regulations. We are an overseas territory not a US one.
Safety? The only people pedestrians need protecting from are the taxis!
Security? Yeah because a terrorist is going to follow the road rules.
What idiotic nonsense.
👍👍👍👍👍
Good thing I bought that taxi sign for my car in The Dollar Store
I guess Covid wasn’t a big enough drag on tourism so some government geniuses decided to add dysfunction to the drop off and pick-up process. What a joke. Many major cities allow curbside drop off and puck up. NewYork, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston, etc.
If there is verified intelligence showing a specific risk to island airports, then let’s see if. If these policies are being made by clowns saying, “what if?”, I say you cannot protect against every contingency, and you must weigh the cost of any defensive measure against the probability of a negative event. You can’t operate by saying “what if” – What if a monkey flies out if your butt?
If you are the Chief Security Officer at an airport with no security threats, you have to do something, right?
We are an overseas territory of the U.K. not a US governed island so US rules do not apply
This is totally unbelievable!!!! Get real here people!!!!
Time to ivest in a good trolly to carry the luggage before it’s decided to charge us for that as well.
Well I’ll be dropping off my relatives right on the road because I am not paying for 30 seconds of my life.
No jet bridges and now we have to pay to drop someone off…this airport was a waste of money.
Maybe open the borders so the CIAA can start making proper income again?
What idiot came up with this idea?
I’m not really bothered by the idiot that came up with the idea, I’m most concerned there wasn’t anyone during the discussion to properly point out just how ridiculous this policy seems to be.
4.17pm The Chief Airport Security Officer supported by his three Deputies.
I wonder who the Chief Airport Security Officer is…. and what he gets out of this mess!
More financial security for himself and the three deputies??
Security? What complete and utter twaddle. If someone was going to commit a criminal act, not being allowed to drive round with the taxis isn’t going to stop them! Jeez for $3 and a patty you could buy one of those POS vans they use.
This is ridiculous! Every airport in the USA has curbside drop off. This has nothing to do with security of any kind. This is the most idiotic plan ever. The MOT needs to explain this, seems very taxi cab biased if you ask me. The parking should be no less than 15 minutes as the payment system is never working and flights all arrive together so clearing immigration takes well over 30 minutes at times. Great way to screw up the first and last impression of Cayman after sitting in industrial park traffic, cayman kind my ass
The contingency for this type of procedure has existed for many years in UK security protocols, for occasions when the threat levels have to be increased. This particular contingency resulted from the Glasgow Airport bombing some years ago. It is also correct that the UK decides on such actions for its OTs (not that I would expect Chad Yates to recognize a valid threat).
But.. I’m not aware of any incident in the UK which has prompted the threat levels to be raised – unless the UK is anticipating threats to aviation as a result of the instability in Afghanistan. Possibly so.
Anyway, don’t expect CIAA to apply any kind of discretion, if there’s any room for that!
I don’t think a terrorist is going to be overly concerned about getting a ticket for using the taxi lane.
Cayman didn’t import half of ISIS
And we certainly didn’t invade the middle east…
3.54pm I have been travelling in and out of Terminal 3 H’Row for 40 years and there has always been drop off at the Terminal.
To be fair the drop off is separated from the doors by a good distance of pavement at T3.
Yes but a long way from the terminal doors
The 5 free minutes is a complete joke.
Yeah….laughing…just wait until we can travel again. There’s going to be gridlock in the parking lots, people won’t be able to exit within the 5 minute time allotment and they aren’t going to pay the parking fee when it’s not their fault they couldn’t leave. Also, are there going to be porters in the drop off parking lots to help people with their luggage?
Whichever donkey[s] came up with this idea should be fired.
The fact that the security officer and his three deputies have been employed and fully paid to secure a virtually unused airport for the last 18 months, they had to do something to justify the salaries.
So let me get this straight…the new three lane access road is now just for taxis and minivans, while private cars have to drive in and out of the short term parking lot to drop off/pickup passengers?? That defies common sense! Bermuda has had to adopt the same UK rules, but at least they built another through road for private cars alongside the main/taxi road. How about CIAA build a mini-berm down the middle of the main access road, give the taxis one lane on the airport side, and give private cars two lanes on the other side, so at least there is some flow…
So what. Same as at most airports around the world. It is the times we live in. Security has to be at a level mandated by international standards. If we do not do it then no international flights.
Remember after Ivan when AA would not fly into GCM because a section of the fence was down?
Have you ever been off island?
Yes. Had to walk about 100/150 feet to every terminal I went into in the last few years. That is about the same from short term parking into our airport.
BS ….. MIA, FLL try 50ft max
That’s why they have curbside check in!
Just because the americans say jump why should the rest of the world jump?
Don’t blame this on us!
Whoa there, the article does not much anything about our airports. And, anyone (private, taxi, Uber, family, friend, you name it) can drive up to ANY airport drop off and pick up in our country. There is no model here after ours. Yes, we have special areas in most airports where cars can wait (AKA cell phone areas) that are FREE, always.
Instead of 5 free minutes they should allow 10 or 15. By the time people drive in and unload their car and say goodbye that could easily surpass 5 minutes. Or you could unload quickly and be trying to exit and get stuck behind someone who has stopped to unload 10 suitcases! I think 10 or 15 minutes would be fair and much safer!
Not to mention, have you ever tried to pay for parking at the airport? Non-functioning machines, overwhelmed staff, total chaos.
How about ban the disgraceful rip off taxis who can’t drive properly. Much better idea
Bureaucrats… little people making life that little bit more difficult for everyone, every day to justify their pathetic existence.
Going forward CIAA better hope their parking tag machines work without fault or they’ll lose those barriers in short order.
What utter garbage. Is this country run purely for the benefit of the taxi thieves? What a joke.
Omg you are all so dramatic, talk about finding something, anything to moan and bitch about. It’s safety precautions. Yes there could be covered walkways, but I’m sure there are allowances for the disabled. Jeez, enough with the negativity already. Find something good to say about something, bunch of miserable got nothing better to do with my day people. I’m sure you’d also all be the first to bitch and moan if there was a security or health and safety breach or an injury.
You already know most CNS readers are predominantly white and expatriates, so you know 99.5 percent of articles on this blog will have majority negative comments when it refers to our Government or the local people. Yet, for whatever reason, they will not return to wherever they came from. Especially the Australians and South Africans 🥴.
I would pay taxes if we could rid ourselves of them, especially from those two aforementioned countries.
@7:28 – aaaah yes, there’s that Caymankind!! As a Caymanian, I wish we could be rid of people like you. You give us Caymanians a bad name.
Totally agree. You can throw the British and the Canadians in too!
These people have such a sense of entitlement and they have the gall to criticize Caymanians.
If your place and your culture is so wonderful, what are you doing here?
You mean, get rid of the nationalaties that actually work? Just say that, the kind of people that know how to WORK.
Don’t forget about the New Guineans. Darn troublemakers.
You’d end up with no financial services sector, so no money and no roads or infra structure if you got risk of them.
Agreed on the Canadians but we Brits quite literally own your ass.
The Irish can stay yes??? We’re pretty darn cool I think!!
Did you know your own Cayman islands demographics profile lists your ethics groups as: mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%
Expatriate and white man’s problem, always, right?
Do you by chance have a mirror in your house?
LOL! The point is not the covered walkways or whatever. The consensus seems to be people have had enough of faceless government employees mandating ridiculous new rules when zero common sense or a lack of proportionality is used.
If this is the standard of decision making at a government body and there are no checks and balances to stop the insanity then god help us all. Is this a huge issue, no. Is it indicative of a broken system which is beginning to run out of control? You betcha.
Seriously, you believe that moving the drop off to the parking lot is going to help with security or a health and safety breach? If they are going to do that why not put up a 12ft chain link fence with barb wire on top..
You are more likely now to get run over by a taxi cab trying to cross three lanes of traffic.
This airport was poorly designed to begin with..For over $100M dollars couldn’t we could have put in a proper covered drop off/pick up area. Couldn’t we have have expanded the long term parking to the North and moved the employee parking behind it. Put in covered walkways and have an electric vehicle moving the employees back and forth like DART and the WESTIN does. This would open up a large area to put in a proper drop off and pick up area that would be covered and away from the building if that was the case.
Maybe I’m making this sound simple but anything has to be better than entering and exiting the short term parking multiple times when you are waiting for someone to come out of Customs or worse having to be in a back up of cars trying to drop off people on a peak day like Saturdays..
My prediction is that one busy Saturday or one long weekend will end this foolishness in a hurry.
Don’t fix what ain’t broke..Fix what you should have done in the first place.
The architects nor CIAA factored security into the new airport now the new knee jerk plan severely affects people with mobility problems. This is of course another terrible failure of our authorities, they make it up as they go along!
who comes up with this crap, What a waste of time
and money..don’t forge the money..our money used by idiots with no common sense..
What a load of bollocks
How’s about a bridge over the road from the parking area? Like in the first world.
No surprise that these idiots made this up to help the taxi mafia profit. What happens when it’s raining? Anyway…. it’ll take 5 minutes just to go inside to pay. Hope they change the paying to outside at the exit. Either way just go and get a new ticket right before you leave. It’s always free that way.
absolute nonsense from cig again. its pandering to the taxi cartel yet again.
welcome to wonderland….zzzzzz
What nonsense. Name me a UK airport that doesn’t have a drop off zone. I guess Chad Yates has never been to Heathrow.
Also, 5 minutes is too short, should be at least 15 minutes.
Glasgow, but they took care of the prick that caused that.
@ 5.55 Go Smeato! Took the bawbag oot the gemme!
Chad what you need to tell us how long has this been required as per airport regulations and why since it was required years ago is it just being implemented without any real PR. This did not occur overnight!
This is so stupid. The bureaucracy is out of control with too little to do and too much time on their hands. The CIAA has lost touch with reality during the pandemic. In what other airport to people drop people off inside a car park? Heathrow – No. Miami – No. Tampa – No. Orlando – No. Gatwick – No. It’s madness.
I was in Heathrow a couple of months ago and you can drop people off curbside. Nothing has changed. Why then are we having to jump through more hoops so some idiot can tick a box rather than focus on a good guest experience?
What is amazing is that we just finished this airport remodelling. Didn’t they know about this requirement then? If so why wasn’t this incorporated into the final design? Serious questions need to be asked about the ability of the team running the airport and if found lacking let’s make changes and put real, professional managers in.
During the remodelling an additional drop off area was included further away from the airport terminal. Why don’t they block off the section close to the terminal and make this the area where people are dropped off? It’s far enough away where it is secure and very close to where they are proposing.
Our new Minister of Tourism needs to stop the politicking and start managing his area so nonsense like this doesn’t get out of control otherwise he becomes part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Heathrow drop off is a distance from the terminals not right outside the door
Security is a huge concern I’m sure that we all agree. Nonetheless, these changes should go hand-in-hand with proper “covered cross-walks” given that we have our rain /storm season 6 months of every year and beyond. We must especially accommodate the elderly and those requiring special assistance. Why spend ridiculous amounts to have turtle shaped canvas tops that rarely a passenger sees or generally cares about and ignore the more important/considerate accommodations such as covered, safe crosswalks.
Security is a huge concern I’m sure we will all agree. Nonetheless, these changes should go hand-in-hand with proper “covered cross-walks” given that we have our rain /storm season 6 months of every year and beyond. We must especially accommodate the elderly and those requiring special assistance. Why spend ridiculous amounts to have turtle shaped canvas tops that rarely a passenger sees or gives a hoot about and ignore the more important/considerate accommodations such as covered, safe crosswalks.
These “security” requirements are nothing new. They have been known about for years but what is happening here is a new “interpretation” of them. They knew about these requirements when building the airport and rather than build the solution into the design they chose not to. It’s nothing short of negligence if they decide now they need to do something.
I don’t agree with either the rationale or the end solution they are proposing. If they are really concerned about security they would stop all vehicles getting close to the terminal building. If an individual is that determined to create a problem, making a van look like a taxi is childs play.
I don’t believe this is really about security but about a government entity wishing to garner more control over the public in a way which is unreasonable and illogical.
Another SAGC run by a private sector board.
But filled up by ministry and civil servant hasbeens.
So true!
2.10pm According to the Auditor General this SAGC has the highest salaries of any of them and what do we get, a shambolic terminal renovation already out of date and now this!.
I guess with all that spare time on their hands from no passengers they’ve got to look like they are doing something.
This is totally unnecessary. I plan to do my drop off and pick up at the George Town Yacht Club and take their airport shuttle and a beer. Win/win.
Totally. You can’t tell me something every other airport in North America has (curbside drop off) is suddenly too high a risk for Cayman.
Specifically, who is forcing this on us??
It is discrimination to old people and disabled people which they are forcing them to trek across carpark to terminal in hot sun or heavy rain…..smell lawsuits coming…
It is plainly irrational in our circumstances, and accordingly unlawful. Power corrupts.
Not to mention that if it’s raining then all the luggage will be sopping wet for hours and then you’ll have to launder everything when you arrive at your destination.
Clearly a money grab by the CIAA and the taxis. There is no way that they can prove that taxis are somehow safer than private vehicles in this area. So its either safe to have a vehicle that close or its not.
Want to prove me wrong? Make the short-term parking free for the first hour.
Furreal bobo, someones broda or sista works at ORIA and wants to help their taxi friends out.
Better watch them taxis whilst making your way to the parking lot or airport, you’ll get mashed up or killed even.
What a load of stupidity. Mr. Minister – fix this. (I don’t expect common snese from CIAA, thats what we have Minsiters for, to represent the interests of the people against these stupid decisions.)
My wife and I and all our children second the 12:37 pm comment.
The real security risk is their staff that smuggle drugs and other $h1t through the terminals with CAL staff…. Cant really understand what security risk there is with parking next ot the terminal – we live in Cayman no?
Maybe if i was at MIA where someone can get assault rifles at supermarkets i would understand, but at ORIA?
Beauracrats in other countries are doing this so useless beauracrats here need to follow suit to justify their existance.
So, do I read this correctly, in order to drop off my partner before his trip pick up my partner after his trip in November I have to pay short term parking??? Are we going to offer regular reliable airport transport on public buses from various locations around the Island in lieu of individual cars going to the airport? ….. No??? OK then, I humbly request that there is a no charge for the first 10 minutes policy- so we can get the luggage out, give a final hug and go on our way.
Read the article, five minutes free in short term parking. A money grab yes but at least some sort of decency in allowing the short term.
17@12:25pm – CIAA parking system (when it works) already allows up to a 20 minute grace period for exit from the parking lots, after paying. But CIAA does not desire to let people know!! Why not??
It should be much more than 10 mins for arrivals to allow for the lengthy queues waiting to be processed by immigration after getting off the plane. And for the elderly and infirm, 5-10 mins is not enough to drop them off walk them over to the airport and get back again.
Will the payment machines start working at the same time?
Payment machines are inside the terminal so a 5 minute drop off will take 15 minutes… duh!
No
Every Little Helps (sorry Tesco) to sort out our fiscal deficit.
What a load of garbage and waste of our money. I swear these people have too much time on their hands and have to try to do something to make themselves appear relevant to still get paid.
We have an airport that was built strictly for dry weather with no cover to enter the buildings and no jetways or cover once you exit to the aircraft. Now these fool fools have decided that dropping you as close you can to the terminal is not good for security reasons and prefer that we drop off our own people in the uncovered parking and run through rain to get to the terminal. Security was an issue from 911. We built an entire airport and never thought about incorporating security? Of course I guess when you spend millions installing a roof made out of glass and shaped like a turtle there was no money left for the little things like canopies to protect people from the weather or paving a gravel rock parking lot.
We are not living in Afghanistan, this is Cayman, it’s an airport in the Caribbean. The only thing terrorists want to do here is put money in the bank.
Before doing this maybe some common sense could have went around the room as well that it would be better to provide better parking with covered walkways first and then attempt to look at this..Of course, if anyone in the CIAA had a lick of sense they would find a parking ticket system that actually works instead of having to hire people to man a booth because the system is no unreliable.
If you want to see a complete mess, wait for the first holiday weekend once we are out of this covid mess…It will be nothing but pure gridlock and delayed flights..mark my words..
@12:16 – the roof is shaped like a turtle?!?!
3.31pm Whatever it is shaped like, according to Ju Ju it is “world class”.
OMG. The fact that they do this at Heathrow does not mean we need to implement here. Has anyone heard of a risk-based approach?
LMAO – ask CIMA about dat bobo.
You can ask them but they definitely won’t tell you.
CIMA is the regulator of the financial services industry and absolutely should be aiming for robust world class standards on par with the rest of the top 10 jurisdictions globally. ORIA, on the otherhand, does not need to operate like Heathrow…
At heathrow terminal 5 you get free drop
Off the same distance from the check in desks as the entrance to ORIA is. They don’t do this anywhere In the real world.
2.25pm and at terminals 2 and 3.
It’s no where near check in it’s 50 metres
Yes there are a lot of people planning to make car bombs to park outside our aiport!!!!
To be fair, some of the less well maintained ‘classics’ on the roads here are pretty much ticking time bombs.
Would be nice if they could now build a covered walkkway to protect passengers from the elements as they walk to and from the short term parking.
It’s crazy that wasn’t planned for. In a place that is either under a blazing sun or a storm cloud.