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Woman receives court threat in East Midlands Airport parking row - but she was 50 miles from the site

East Midlands Airport says it is simply trying to keep traffic flow 'safe and efficient' near its terminal

[Photo shows the Short Stay 1 car park, with the no-waiting zone concerned seen to the right]

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The Short Stay 1 car park, with the no-waiting zone concerned seen to the right(Image: Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)

A woman has been threatened with court action after her car illegally stopped in a section of East Midlands Airport for less than a minute - whilst she was 50 miles away.

A 'ridiculous' appeals process and a lack of 'discretion' from either the airport or the parking enforcement company concerned means matters have escalated to the point where the 42-year-old mum faces a 170 fine.

The airport has stuck by the actions of the third-party parking enforcer, saying the area where the woman's car stopped "must be kept clear at all times for safety and operational reasons".

The incident took place on October 19 in 2025 when Marianne Marshall, who lives near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, had leant her car to several family members so they could run a series of errands.

Different family members were driving the car at different times and one of their stops was to pick somebody up from the airport.

The family were planning to use East Midlands Airport's rapid drop off area outside the terminal building, where the maximum stay is 30 minutes.

Given the restriction on timings, Marianne understands her family had briefly stopped the car to make sure the person they were picking up was ready.

They did so on a road just outside a short stay car park that had double red lines on it, but they were only there for 58 seconds, nobody got out of the car and they promptly went to the rapid drop off zone, paying the 5 charge afterwards.

Yet a fine was first issued to Marianne on October 23 and, at that stage, the CCTV suggested the car had only been there for just 14 seconds, and even that was enough for VCS Parking Enforcement to demand a 100 fine.

The parking company has been contacted for comment but has not responded.

The fine would have been reduced to 60 if paid within 14 days but, at that stage, Marianne did not even know which one of her family members had been driving at the time and they themselves could not remember.

She therefore submitted an initial appeal stating that she had been at her daughter's dance exam in Lincoln at the time of the offence and that she was therefore not the one to pay the fine.

Marianne says the initial appeal was rejected because the parking company deemed there was not enough evidence to show she was not at East Midlands Airport.

To try and help matters, she asked the separate parking company who manage East Midlands Airport's rapid drop off zone if they could provide CCTV of her car, which would have more clearly shown who was at the wheel at the time.

The company reportedly declined to do so, saying it would have been a GDPR breach, and the fine facing Marianne in the meantime has now jumped to 170.

A bailiff company employed by VCS wrote a letter to Marianne on February 26, which also threatened court action if she did not pay.

Marianne said: "It just feels very disproportionate that somebody can stop on a side road and it ends up costing 170. You get less for speeding.

"I understand the reputation of these companies and it seems like the system is just designed to extract money out of you.

"I completely understand that areas need to be kept clear for emergency vehicles but, in this case, it was 58 seconds and absolutely nobody was harmed, so it feels like a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"If somebody is on a road for such a short amount of time, how is that any kind of disruption?

"Yes there are signs there but, until you've actually stopped, you wouldn't see that the signs were there.

"There should be some sort of discretion for things like this. Of course the parking company are going to give you a fine if they think they can make some money out of it, but, for the airport, I don't think it is right.

"I don't want to go to court, so I think I will have to pay the 170 and split it between those who were there on the day, but the whole thing just feels ridiculous."

Ioan Reed-Aspley, the Head of Corporate Affairs at East Midlands Airport, wrote in response to Marianne's MP: "Red route parking enforcement at East Midlands Airport plays an important role in maintaining the safe and efficient flow of traffic around the terminal area.

"The roads immediately outside the terminal are among the busiest parts of the airport estate are are used continuously by buses, emergency vehicles, taxis, private cars and operational service vehicles.

"Stopping or waiting in these areas, even briefly, can quickly create congestion, obstruct sightlines and increase the risk of accidents.

"A no-stopping sign is clearly visible on the lamppost behind the vehicle. The location where the vehicle was stationary is also the entrance to one of the airport's fuel storage areas and must be kept clear at all times for safety and operational reasons."

East Midlands Airport was contacted for further comment and it again pointed to the need for the fuel storage area to be kept clear at all times.

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