A Ramsey commissioner claims the car waiting changes at Ronaldsway are affecting residents in the north, who often have to leave before the plane has departed.

Juan McGuinness says the recent statement from the airport, which claims people are waiting for longer than they should, could’ve been predicted.

The changes, brought in July this year, lowered the free parking time from one hour to 30 minutes, and separated parking bays to standard and premium rates.

Mr McGuinness said: 'The issue with living up north is you often have to leave your home if you’re collecting someone from the airport before the flight leaves the north-west of the UK, so you can’t really adjust to delays or any sort of last minute changes.

‘Having additional time to be able to wait for whoever you’re collecting in and around the airport is very helpful.

‘Since the move to the 30 minute parking time, it’s no surprise to me that the airport have said they’ve seen an increase in people using the waiting bays, because that’s just a natural result of people having to arrive earlier and not being comfortable using the car park.

‘I can’t see there being any result from this other than them having to increase enforcement and pour more money into trying to enforce the rules.

‘They say they’re doing it to try and raise additional revenue, but I don’t believe that any of the things they’ve put in will increase revenue.’

The new system introduces coloured parking zones, green and red, which indicate standard and premium tariff bays.

The maximum amount of free parking time in red bays is 15 minutes, and half an hour in green zones.