Police crackdown at airport over the weekend.

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The Palma police launched a major crackdown on illegal airport parking over the weekend with fines of up to 200 euros being issued. Motorists were either fined or received a warning after parking on access roads while they awaited for arriving passengers.

The local police stressed that this was illegal. "Drivers can park up, free of charge, in the Airport Express area and in many parts it is strictly illegal," the local police said in a statement.

For 15 minutes, cars can park near the arrivals area at no cost, facilitating pickup of passengers. There are 84 parking spaces, 4 of them aimed at disabled visitors, open 24 hours.

"It is always best to check with the airline or the airport when going to collect a passenger to establish whether the flight is on time, this will avoid long waits," they said. "Our officers saw people parking up anywhere and they were told to move on."

There has been some confusion over airport parking over recent months with the police saying that free parking was only available in the Airport Express area and only for 15 minutes.

The police are expected to repeat their crackdown over the coming months because they feel that some parts of the airport was like the "Wild West for parked cars."