Starbucks at Edinburgh Airport refused permission to serve alcohol from 5am
It's feared early morning revellers would take advantage
Councillors have rejected a bid by Starbucks to start selling alcohol at Edinburgh Airport before five in the morning.
It's over concern people would travel there just to take advantage of the early licence as it's is positioned before security.
The coffee shop is open 24 hours and is currently able to serve alcohol between 10am and midnight.
An application before the licensing board on Monday (March 27) sought permission to commence on-sales five hours earlier at 5am.
A lawyer acting on behalf of Starbucks said the variation came “at the request of the airport”.
Alistair MacDonald said: “This is not somewhere where you’re going to sit for hours and hours and hours, this is somewhere where you’re going to go in for an hour or so and it could be any time of the night depending on your plane time.”
Board member Councillor David Key said he was worried about the consequences of approving the extension.
“There’s no reason why a pub should be open at five in the morning at Edinburgh Airport,” he said, “and actually it could be the new thing to do – go for a morning out and start at the airport.”
Councillor Chas Booth also voiced misgivings about increasing the sale of booze in the airport. He said: “My cousin used to work as an air steward and she frequently told stories of how the disruption on flights is largely as a result of people having taken on too much drink.”
He added he was concerned about “encouraging people to preload before they get on the flight” and moved refusal on the grounds of public health and public order.
Taking the opposite view, Cllr Norrie Work urged members: “Let’s be serious here and don’t embarrass ourselves.”
He said: “I really find it astounding that somebody would even suggest jumping on an airport bus to go to the airport to have a drink in Starbucks – I mean come on let’s be real here.”
The board was tied 4-4 upon going to a vote, with Cllr Young as convener using her casting vote to refuse the licence variation, despite being in favour of granting it previously.
She said it was better to “err on the side of caution” in the absence of majority support.
The board agreed to waive the requirement for the applicant to wait at least 12 months before another bid could be submitted for variation of licensing hours.