Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted: How much are UK airports raking in from drop off charges?
As Britain’s airports enter the busiest period of the year, passengers are being warned of the “rip-off” cost of dropping off departing friends and family.
The lion-share of airports have frozen so-called ‘kiss and fly’ charges this year, which were seen as a critical source of revenue during the post-pandemic recovery.
But analysis from motoring group the RAC shows seven of the top 20 UK hubs by passenger numbers have hiked prices for drop-off parking since last summer, at a time when travel demand is soaring across Europe.
London Gatwick (£6 for 10 minutes), Edinburgh (£5 for 10 minutes), Birmingham (£5 for 15 minutes) and Bristol (£6 for 10 minutes) have all increased charges by £1 when compared with 2023.
Although it did not increase charges, London Stansted comes in top of the charts, charging a whopping £7 for up to 15 minutes, the equivalent of 47p per minutes. Leeds Bradford came in second at £6.50, with Gatwick and Bristol in third.
On a cost-per-minute basis, Manchester offers drivers the worst value at £5 for a five minute stay, or £1 per minute.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “It’s depressing, if perhaps unsurprising given what’s happened in the past, to see seven airports have hiked their drop-off charges once again this year. To have to pay £5, £6 or even £7 for the briefest of stops to simply open the boot and take some luggage out for a friend or loved one is bordering on the ridiculous.
“Increased charges at airports that have relatively poor public transport access – for instance, no direct rail or tram link – also seems pretty unreasonable.
“Some airports say the reason they charge for drop-offs at all is to discourage people from driving in the first place, but if the alternatives are non-existent, expensive or unreliable then what choice do people really have?”
Some 81 per cent of drivers surveyed by the RAC this summer have described the charges as a “rip off” and believe all airports should offer the service for free.
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “Passengers can still get dropped off for free in the long-stay car park, with a free shuttle bus to the terminal. Blue Badge holders remain exempt from the charge.
“The drop off charge helps reduce congestion, allows us to reinvest in sustainable transport – as we have already done with the doubling of the Gatwick-Reading train service and introduction of the local Metrobus hydrogen fleet – and encourage more passengers and staff to use public transport to reach the airport, to achieve our aim for 60 per cent of journeys to and from the airport to be zero or ultra-low emissions, by 2030.”
A Stansted airport spokesperson said: “Express Set Down charges contribute to reducing the intensive environmental impacts of the private vehicle drop-offs and pick-ups and help manage congestion in a capacity-restricted area.
“If passengers do not wish to use the express area, the mid-stay car park offers a free park-and-ride service that drops them off on the terminal forecourt and local residents living within 10 miles of the airport can also benefit from a generous discount scheme.”
Heathrow has been approached for comment.