French firm behind Edinburgh Airport blasted for banning cash for parking
The French firm which co-owns Edinburgh Airport has been blasted for banning cash payments for parking - despite it being illegal for businesses to go cashless in France.
Campaigners said Scots are being treated like "second-class citizens" compared to European counterparts where many countries have passed laws protecting the right to use cash.
Edinburgh is jointly owned by Vinci Airports which holds a 50.01 per cent stake in the firm alongside Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) which owns the remaining 49.99 per cent.
Vinci owns 70 airports, including Gatwick and Belfast International and bought its majority stake in Edinburgh last year.
Edinburgh Airport made parking charges cashless on July 1, following Glasgow and Aberdeen.
But given Edinburgh Airport's French connection, Ron Delnevo, of the Payment Choice Alliance, said the move was hypocritical.
He said: 'By law in France, cash must be accepted.
"It's an absolute joke how we're being treated in Britain - we're being treated as second-class citizens.
"All around Europe, the public has these rights but here we're being told to let businesses decide.
"That's complete rubbish. Older people in particular are embarrassed if they go in somewhere and their cash is turned down.'
Edinburgh Airport Limited, the company Vinci bought a majority stake in last year, remains a Scottish company.
Edinburgh Airport said: "More than 90 per cent of transactions in our car parks are now cashless, and this trend informed our decision."
It comes after we told how Scottish banknotes are being quietly phased out with many ATMs now issuing English cash.
The Sunday Mail revealed earlier this month how Scotland's unique cash - a symbol of Scottish national identity and banking heritage - is being stripped out of circulation at four times the rate of English currency.
Bank of England data shows the value of Scottish notes in circulation has slumped by nearly a fifth since 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic hit and saw an increase in contactless card payments.
The total value of Scottish banknotes in circulation - including in people's wallets, shop tills and in the wider economy, as well as in ATMs and bank branches - had slipped below £5billion for the first time since November 2020.
The value of Scottish notes held in ATMs and bank branches fell from half a billion pounds in 2017 to just £240million last year - a huge real-terms cut of 63 per cent.
The Payment Choice Alliance campaigns on the right to access and use cash anywhere in the country.
Some of the most vulnerable groups in the country rely on cash, including many people with disabilities - either because they do not have access to a debit card, or because someone else controls their money.
People over-65s rely on cash too, as well as victims of domestic abuse who often need cash to escape controlling partners who track their debit or credit card activity.
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