From 1 September, at Skopje airport the same vehicle will be able to stop free of charge in the Hug & Fly zone in front of the terminal only once in any 24 hours. The ten-minute free stay remains, but only - once a day, per registration plate.

TAV Macedonia explains that the system works with automatic recognition and registration of number plates, and that the aim is to prevent misuse of the zone, reduce congestion right at the entrance and ensure a smooth flow of vehicles, especially at the peak of the travel season.

Drivers who need a longer stay or multiple arrivals during the day are directed to the main car park, which has 1,200 spaces for cars and six for buses. Short-term parking costs from 100 denars for under an hour to 1,000 denars for a stay of eight to 24 hours.

The taxi drivers see it differently

The taxi drivers' association opposed the measure. Their argument is blunt: a driver making several transfers in the same day uses the same vehicle, so under the new rule he pays for parking from the second run onwards. They warn that this will move into the price of the ride, especially for passengers with disabilities, for whom getting close to the terminal is not a convenience but a necessity.

What they are asking for is not unlimited parking: "We are asking for reasonable solutions - strict enforcement of the maximum stopping time, multiple short entries during the day and, if needed, a reasonable minimum interval between free entries."

The association also asked the Commission for Protection of Competition to check whether the different access conditions create an unequal competitive advantage.

One rule, two different situations

The measure makes sense if the problem is vehicles staying in a drop-off zone longer than allowed. But the "once in 24 hours" rule does not distinguish between someone who parked the car for 40 minutes and someone who dropped a passenger in three minutes and drove straight on.

Automatic plate recognition can count minutes too, not just entries. The question is why the limit was set on the number of arrivals rather than on time spent in the zone - because that is the point at which a flow measure turns into an extra cost for the people who work at the airport every day.