Airport Drop-Off Charges Revealed

As part of our series of ‘Airport Charges Revealed’ articles, our final edition of the trilogy (for now) looks at airport drop-off charges to see which airports in the UK charge for dropping off at the airport and of those that charge, how much they charge and how long you get for your money. It’s not cheap to park your car at an airport, if you’re going on holiday for a week or more, parking your car at the airport can be expensive, particularly if you want to park in the airport car park itself but drop-off charges represent the most expensive parking you’ll likely find (based on respective hourly rate).



Of the 30 UK airports we checked, only 11 of them allow you to drop-off without charge. 60% of UK airports will charge you for the privilege with prices starting from £1. In fact, 20% of UK airports will charge you the minimum £1, but it’s not as simple as that. For instance, you wouldn’t want a long goodbye to friends or family at Edinburgh Airport as whilst it’s only £1 for drop-off, take more than 5 minutes to park up, get your cases out of the car, say your goodbyes and get back to the ticket barrier and you’re into the next tariff and prices really ramp up. The most generous airport is the Isle of Man, where £1 buys you an entire hour.

The most expensive airport drop-off charge is levied at London Stansted, where you’ll be relieved of £3.50 for 10 minutes of your time to drop-off. That’s £21 per hour! Whilst that sounds expensive, Manchester Airport takes the crown for the UK’s most expensive airport drop-off, with a £3 charge for just 5 minutes. That’s £36 per hour!

Airport Drop-Off Prices

* There are set-down lanes outside the terminals. You may unload on the terminal forecourt but waiting is not permitted
** You can drop-off passengers in the designated areas on the terminal forecourts - no waiting
*** You can drop-off passengers in the designated areas on the terminal forecourts - no waiting
**** You can drop-off passengers in the designated areas on the terminal forecourts - no waiting

Free Airport Drop-Off

Thankfully not all UK airports charge for dropping off and our busiest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick both offer free drop-off at the terminal (Gatwick at both North Terminal and South Terminal and Heathrow terminals 1-5 inclusive). Set down lanes are located outside the terminal buildings and can be used by taxi, private cars and shuttle buses alike. You are not permitted to wait or leave the car unattended, but drop-off is permitted and is free of charge. The most generous airport is Guernsey, where the drop-off and pick-up parking is free of charge for up to an hour.



If you want to read more about the crafty ways airports squeeze every last penny out of travelers, see our airport wi-fi charges and airport luggage trolley charges articles.