Airport parking charges have long been a bone of contention for passengers with many airports charging inflated fees to park your family wagon up for that week in Lanzarote but what about if you get someone to drop you off, surely that isn’t penalised right?
Wrong. but to understand why that’s ok you have to think about how airports make money.
When you book a flight or a holiday hardly any of that money goes to airport. With the exception of handling fees (which are often via 3rd party contractors such as DNATA or DHL) airports make money from passengers through the rental of shop spaces to outlets and of course, parking.
So that’s why airports will exploit all possible revenue options available including charging a premium for close access to the terminal to drop off passengers.
Ok, so it’s a little more complex than that but setting out the basics is key to this article.
What also needs to be factored in is that airports, particularly regional airports that want to expand, are under pressure to reduce the number of private vehicles clogging up the local roads which itself presents them with somewhat of a paradox where they have to balance revenue versus environmental ambitions.
So what do airports charge to drop off?
Unsurprisingly, two London Airports are in the top spot with London Gatwick charing £10 for 10 minutes access to the drop off zone and London City Airport charging £8 for just 5 mins.
The most expensive regional airport is Bristol Airport which charges £8.50 for 10 minutes access to the drop-off area followed by London Southend, which is £8 for 10 minutes.
It is worth noting though that of all the airports we looked at all but London City and London Southend offered a free alternative using car parks further away from the terminal. But times on these varied from 10 minutes to 2 hours.
UK Airport Drop Off Charges by price
| Airport Name | Charge | Minutes | Free Alternative | How long? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Gatwick | £10 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Parks (180 mins) |
| Bristol | £8.50 | 10 | Yes | Waiting Zone (60 mins) |
| London City | £8 | 5 | No | No Option |
| London Southend | £8 | 10 | No | No Option |
| Leeds Bradford | £7 | 10 | Yes | One Hour free Zone |
| London Heathrow | £7 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Parls (30 mins) |
| London Luton | £7 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (180 mins) |
| London Stansted | £7 | 15 | Yes | Mid-Stay Car Park (60 mins) |
| Birmingham | £6 | 15 | Yes | Drop Off Car Park |
| Edinburgh | £6 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (30 mins) |
| Glasgow | £6 | 15 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (60 mins) |
| Liverpool | £6 | 10 | Yes | Drop Off 2 (20 mins) |
| Aberdeen | £5.50 | 15 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (60 mins) |
| East Midlands | £5 | 15 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (60 mins) |
| Manchester | £5 | 5 | Yes | JetParks 1 |
| Newcastle | £5 | 10 | Yes | Callerton Parkway (90 mins) |
| Belffast City | £4 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (10 mins) |
| Belfast International | £3 | 10 | Yes | Long-Stay Car Park (15 mins) |
| Cardiff | £3 | 10 | Yes | Car Park 2 (20 mins) |