Fury as passengers at UK airport hit with parking prices lottery due to 'AI trial'

Passengers at Edinburgh Airport are up in the arms as they are facing a lottery over how much they are charged for parking due to an artificial intelligence experiment, it has been reported.

The airport accepted that people booking parking online are randomly being given different price quotes because some are set by AI, reports The Scotsman. 

It said: "Some car parking searches return prices set by our own team and some have pricing set by the AI trial."

The Scottish Passenger Agents Association (SPAA), which represents the travel industry, expressed alarm at the revelation.

The body said: "Such trials should be conducted in controlled, 'lab' conditions rather than on the travelling public."

The Scottish Conservatives called the situation "worrying" and emphasised that the airport must ensure drivers are treated "fairly and equally."

The discrepancy was revealed when a man was quoted £69.99 for FastPark valet parking from 12pm on September 1 to 10pm on September 3, while his wife was quoted £75.99 for the exact same period, according to The Scotsman.

The man's quote reflected a daily rate of £23.33, whereas his wife's quote showed a rate of £25.33 per day.

He explained that he initially thought the price difference was because his wife used an Apple iPhone to get the quote while he used an Android device.

However, the airport clarified that the discrepancy was due to an AI trial and not related to the type of device, browser, or location.

The passenger said: "My wife, an iPhone user, and I, an Android user, have just noticed that Edinburgh Airport seems to be charging iPhone users more for car parking than Android users.

"I discovered that when my wife went to book parking that I had suggested, it turned out to be more expensive. I searched again and got the lower original price on my Android device.

"My Android device got the lower pricing on each of three separate occasions, while my wife's iPhone got the higher pricing twice and my work iPhone got it once.

"It looks awfully like this is a model parameter rather than a random result.”

An SPAA spokesperson told the publication: "The use of AI in travel is already a widely-used tool for all types of businesses. The SPAA is always in favour of trialling new systems and technologies, including the use of AI, to enhance customer experiences and optimise services.

"However, we believe that such trials should be conducted in controlled, ‘lab’ conditions rather than on the travelling public.

"Travellers expect consistency, fairness, and transparency when it comes to pricing, especially when planning their journeys. We urge all parties involved to ensure that any new technology trials do not come at the expense of the best service and best value that customers rightly expect."

Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Graham Simpson said: "This may be a trial, but it’s worrying that people could be getting charged different amounts for exactly the same parking.

"Edinburgh Airport must ensure that everyone using the airport car parks is treated fairly and equally.” The airport said it was conducting a trial using AI to look at pricing, which selected people at random for lower/higher prices which closely matched those set by airport staff.

Its spokesman said: “Like many businesses, we have been trialling different online pricing strategies, including the use of artificial intelligence.

“During testing. this means some car parking searches return prices set by our own team and some have pricing set by the AI trial, such as in this case.

"The findings of our testing will be used to evaluate the AI trial and decide whether this is something we decide to adopt."