HUNDREDS of sets of car keys were dumped at Bournemouth Airport overnight after an off-site parking firm ceased trading without warning.

The keys to 300 vehicles were given to airport staff by a BOMO Parking Services employee this morning and the company has said that the decision was taken due to the “catastrophic effect” of “a sustained attack” by an individual.

Dozens of people returning to the airport on Wednesday morning were impacted with airport security staff driving them to their cars.
 

Bournemouth Echo:

A statement on its website says: “BOMO Parking Services has ceased trading with immediate effect.

“All vehicle keys have been hand delivered to Bournemouth Airport information desk for customers to collect on their return from holiday.

“All future car park bookings have been cancelled with immediate effect.

“BOMO Parking Services has been the target of a sustained attack online and offline by a known individual, which has had a catastrophic effect on the trading position, causing closure.”

Last month, several cars parked on the company’s site adjacent to Adventure Wonderland in Merritown Lane were targeted by vandals with damage cause estimated to be in the thousands of pounds.

Its director, John Smith, said that he feared for his employees’ safety after the attacks.

Following Wednesday’s announcement, the majority of people have so far been reunited with their cars, one group of friends discovered that their keys had gone missing.

Customers’ keys are being distributed by airport staff and fees for using the drop-off car park have been waived for people affected by the firm’s closure.

Paul Knight, managing director at Bournemouth Airport, said yesterday: “Earlier this morning a representative, purportedly from BOMO Parking Services, an independent business which provided off-site parking and is not related to the airport, deposited a holdall at the airport information desk and left immediately. 

“The bag contained a large number of keys. 

“Our staff are proactively assisting affected passengers by ferrying them from the airport to collect their cars from the site. 

“A number of passengers have already been assisted back to their cars this morning, with this number likely to increase significantly throughout the day and coming weeks.

“Given the circumstances, we are waiving drop-off charges if they need to return to the airport to collect fellow passengers or visitors.

“We have 2,300 secure car parking spaces at the airport, with CCTV and patrols, and can accommodate extra bookings from customers who may have booked with BOMO Parking Services over the summer.”

Messages have been posted around the airport with tannoy announcements used to make people aware after the arrival of flights.

A spokesman for the airport added that the keys had now been sorted into arrival dates to “minimise disruption”.

Plans, submitted in January, to expand the number of parking spaces the company has on its site were backed by Adventure Wonderland despite objections from the airport.

In a statement, Russell Lucas-Rowe who owns Adventure Wonderland, said that the theme park was not connected to BOMO Parking Services saying that it had operated “entirely independently under a wholly different ownership”.

He added that they would be ensuring that people returning from flights whose cars have been parked by the company would be able to access their vehicles.

“This site will be locked up at night as usual and staff who live on site will also be keeping it secure,” he added