A Queensland woman has shared her frustration online after receiving a fine for helping her elderly mother-in-law during pick-up at the airport.
In a post shared to Reddit, the woman explained that she drove to Cairns Airport on January 17 to pick up her mother-in-law, who is over 80-years-old, from the passenger pick-up area.
“I picked up my 80+ year old mother-in-law from the airport from the passenger pick up area, where passengers need to be ready to jump in the car,” she began.
The woman said her mother-in-law was carrying “two large bags” and stood far away from the car, so she went out to help.
“I got out of the car and ran over to her to help her with her bags, which was around 15 metres from the car. When I turned around, there was a parking officer in front of my car writing out a fine.”
She added: “I ran back and pleaded my case with this officer that I was helping the old lady and asked him to be considerate. He said I should’ve asked him to help.”
She explained that there was someone else who remained in the car when she picked up her mother-in-law, and acknowledged that she knew vehicles cannot be left unattended in the pick-up area.
The woman said that while she would love to challenge the fine, it would be too time-consuming and draining to take to court.
“It is merely about the fact that the young person issuing the fine didn’t show any compassion,” she added.
“As I told him, I was helping an elderly lady in the fastest way possible. I also said that I have now learned from this mistake and would never do it again.”
People in the comments urged the woman to fight the fine as a matter of principle, with one person writing: “It seems like a lot of work, but totally worth it to hold them accountable. Good luck.”
Others said that it was not worth the “time and effort” to fight the fine.
“It is really irksome that this amount of effort is needed to prove innocence. The time and effort to go through these actions severely outweighs the parking ticket fine sadly,” one person said.
“There should be a much more considerate and streamlined process. Out of principle, a lot of people go through the hoops, but it is unfair and geared towards the privileged with freedom of time.”
“They’re literally guilty of breaking the signed conditions. They just don’t think it’s fair they got fined,” a third argued.
Cairns Airport have stated that the pick-up zones are “regulated and strictly for pick-ups and drop-offs only” on their official website, and added that penalties apply if vehicles are left unattended.
The airport does provide alternative pick-up options, including a 10-minute free parking in the uncovered car parks outside terminals one and two, as well as a free standby zone where people can wait for 30 minutes for arrivals.
Image: Shutterstock
