£Airport Drop-Off Charges.co.uk

UK airport drop-off charges, every airport compared

The "kiss and fly" fee at the barrier, the free minutes it buys, what an overstay really costs — and the free alternative the signs don't point to. Verified for 23 UK airports, for both drop-offs and pick-ups.

Last full review: · every figure dated & sourced
Average fee
£6.89
across 22 charging airports
Highest fee
£10
Gatwick & Stansted
Free at the terminal
1 airport
of 23 tracked
Typical rise where increased
+41%
latest increase on record
Charges change without notice. Figures below carry their verification date — always confirm with the airport before you travel.
Airport Fee ▼ Time Free alternative

Every fee at a glance

Nearest-terminal drop-off fee. Longer bar, more expensive — the time each fee buys varies, so check the table for the per-minute story.

UK airport drop-off fees, summer 2026

£ per drop-off at the closest zone to the terminal

London Gatwick
£10
London Stansted
£10
Edinburgh
£8.50
Bristol
£8.50
London City
£8
Leeds Bradford
£8
Bournemouth
£8
London Southend
£8
London Heathrow
£7
London Luton
£7
Birmingham
£7
Glasgow
£7
Aberdeen
£7
Southampton
£7
Newcastle
£6
Liverpool John Lennon
£6
Manchester
£5.50
East Midlands
£5
Belfast International
£5
Cardiff Wales
£4.50
Glasgow Prestwick
£4.50
Belfast City
£4
Cornwall Newquay
FREE

Green = free. Source: this site's verified dataset, 2026-08-17.

How much have fees risen?

Where we hold a previous fee on record. Drop-off charging only began at most airports around 2021 — and it has climbed steeply since.

AirportWasNowRise
Edinburgh£5 (2024)£8.50+70%
Cardiff Wales£3 (2025)£4.50+50%
London Gatwick£7 (2025)£10+43%
London Stansted£7 (2025)£10+43%
Bristol£6 (2024)£8.50+42%
London Heathrow£5 (2023)£7+40%
London Luton£5 (2024)£7+40%
London City£6 (2025)£8+33%
Manchester£5 (2025)£5.50+10%

Questions people actually ask

Which UK airports are free to drop off at?

Cornwall Newquay is the only airport in our dataset with genuinely free terminal drop-off (10 minutes). Birmingham keeps a free Standard Drop Off car park — 10 minutes, short walk — alongside its £7 Premium Set Down. Nearly everywhere else, "free" means the long-stay car park: a free period of 30 minutes to 2 hours plus a shuttle. The table shows each airport's option.

What's the most expensive airport to drop off at?

Gatwick and Stansted, at £10. Gatwick gives you 10 minutes for that; Stansted 15. On a per-minute basis London City is the priciest in Britain: £8 for 5 minutes is £1.60 a minute.

What if I stay longer than the time allowed?

Every airport escalates, some sharply: Stansted jumps from £10 to £28 after 15 minutes; Glasgow and Aberdeen hit £50 past half an hour. If there's any chance you'll wait — a delayed flight, a slow bag reclaim — the long-stay free period is nearly always the cheaper call. Expand any airport row for its exact overstay ladder.

What happens if I don't pay?

At barrier-free airports (Heathrow, Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands) you must pay by midnight the next day — there's no barrier to remind you. Miss it and a Parking Charge follows: £80 at Heathrow, cut to £40 if paid within 14 days. The payment method for each airport is in its expanded row.

Is it cheaper to park than to drop off?

If you're waiting for someone, often yes. Gatwick's £10 buys 10 minutes at the barrier, but its long-stay gives 2 hours free with a shuttle. Bristol's Waiting Zone gives an hour free against £8.50 at the terminal. And if you're travelling yourself rather than dropping off, pre-booked parking almost always beats anything bought on the day.

Method & corrections

Every figure on this page is checked against the airport's own published charges and stamped with the date we checked it. Rows marked official were confirmed directly on the airport's website on that date; rows marked secondary were cross-checked against two or more recent published comparisons and are queued for direct confirmation. We re-verify the full table quarterly, and after any reported change.

Spotted an error? Email corrections@airportdropoffcharges.co.uk — corrections are made visibly and dated. The dataset behind this page is free to reuse with attribution: JSON · CSV (CC BY 4.0).