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Airport Wi-Fi Charges Revealed

Following a study in 2014 of free Wi-Fi provision (or not as the case may be at airport such as Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen and Berlin Tegel) at Europe’s busiest airports, we’ve taken a fresh look at how the situation has changed at the UK’s top 20 busiest airports. A lot has changed in the last 4 years and the UK’s airports Wi-Fi provision is one of them, for most of our airports at least.  Take London Luton for example, back in 2014 if you arrived at the airport at the recommended 2 hours before your flight and wanted to use their Wi-Fi you’d get access for 30 minutes free of charge, but today you can surf the net from your device for up to 4 hours free of charge. That’s an increase of 800% in the free Wi-Fi allowance!

free airport wifi

The UK’s least accommodating airport (in the top 20 busiest at least) is Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. Ranked as the 12th busiest airport in the UK, handing some 4.8 million passengers in 2017, those passengers only benefit from 30 minutes free Wi-Fi. After that you’ll pay £3 per hour just to get connected. In an age of free data roaming anywhere in Europe, it’s somewhat surprising that airports charge for Wi-Fi connectivity at all, however much like airport luggage trolley charges and drop-off parking fees, Wi-Fi charges are just another tool in the airports armoury to relieve a captive audience of a few more pounds.

And the most accommodating? Unsurprisingly, Heathrow Airport is one of the UK’s most accommodating when it comes to Wi-Fi access offering unlimited access with no time restrictions. Considering you would only get 45 minutes free of charge in 2014, that’s good news for the 78 million passengers that passed through the airport in 2017, from terminal 1 to terminal 5, there is price parity for Wi-Fi access anywhere at the airport. Of the smaller airports, Jersey is the most generous with its Wi-Fi, 19th on the list of the UK’s busiest airports handling just 1.6 million passengers, it offer free unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity.

Airport Wi-Fi allowances and charges compared to 2014;
 
AIRPORT
Free Time Allowance
Cost for 1 Hour
Cost for 2 Hours
v 2014*
% change
London Heathrow
Unlimited
Free
Free
45 Minutes
NA
Birmingham
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unlimited
0
Newcastle
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
London-City
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unlimited
0
Leeds Bradford
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Aberdeen
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Belfast-City
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Jersey
Unlimited
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
London Stansted
4 Hours
Free
Free
1 Hour
400%
London Luton
4 Hours
Free
Free
30 Minutes
800%
East Midlands
4 Hours
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Southampton
4 Hours
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Edinburgh
2 Hours
Free
Free
2 Hours
0
Bristol
2 Hours
Free
Free
30 Minutes
400%
Belfast International
2 Hours
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
Cardiff
2 Hours
Free
Free
Unknown
NA
London Gatwick
90 Minutes
Free
*
45 Minutes
200%
Manchester
1 Hour
Free
5
1 Hour
0
Glasgow
1 Hour
Free
5
30 Minutes
200%
Liverpool
30 Minutes
3
6
Unknown
NA
*data not available for all locations.

airport wifi charges cost
Phil Partridge
Posted: September 17, 2018 by Phil Partridge
About the Author -

Travel writer, car rental guru, Phil has rented cars all over the world and shares his knowledge and experience on the Rhinocarhire.com Blog. Favourite country to visit: France.

Last updated: Sunday, February 4, 2024
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