Moroting organisation The RAC has hit out at airport drop off charges which have seen significant rises at some of the UK’s busiest airports, and introduced for the first time at Cardiff Airport.
So called ‘Kiss and Fly’ charges can be as much as £7.00 for just a few minutes to drop someone off at the airport with London Stansted, London Gatwick, Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Southampton charging this highest rate.
Birmingham, London Heathrow, Liverpool and Edinburgh have also recently raised their charges to £6.00 for between 10 and 20 minutes in the drop off zone.
Cardiff Airport has introduced a charge for the first time with a £3.00 charge for up to 10 minutes.
Many airports claim these fees are to discourage people from driving to the airport and use public transport or park and ride services instead with most offering a free drop off option away from the terminal where a bus is required.
Bristol for example has a free waiting/drop-off area the other side of the airport near its Silver Zone parking with frequent buses to the terminal.
Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at the RAC, said: “Drivers are a captive audience and that’s why we think airports are so keen on these sorts of fees. But honestly, £7 for a stop that could be no more than 10 minutes does seem a little steep.
“And the fact that these costs keep going up year after year I think is going to be a huge source of frustration for anyone dropping off a friend or loved one this summer.”
In contrasts, most airports in Europe do not charge a free to drop someone off at the airport and even one of the biggest, Amsterdam Schiphol only charges around £2.00.
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