UK airport drop-off charges, every airport compared

Cornwall Newquay (10 minutes) and Humberside (15 minutes) are the only airports in our dataset with genuinely free terminal drop-off. 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 — or see the full guide to free airport drop-off and every free alternative.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Usually. At most UK airports the same zone and the same charge apply whether you're dropping off or picking up — but the big exceptions matter: Manchester charges £100 for attempting to pick up in its Drop Off zone, Heathrow doesn't allow pick-ups in its drop-off zones at all (use the car parks), and Gatwick's express pick-up areas sit inside its Short Stay car parks. Each airport's own guide covers its rules.

Mostly no. Drop-off zones are increasingly cashless — card or contactless at the barrier or pay station, or online afterwards at barrier-free airports like Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted. Glasgow Prestwick is strictly cashless. Don't turn up relying on coins.

It varies. East Midlands gives Blue Badge holders up to 30 minutes free in Short Stay 1, and several airports offer exemptions or extended time — but others charge the standard fee. Policies differ enough that it's worth checking your airport's own accessibility or parking page before travelling.

Charging spread across UK airports from around 2021 — introduced to recover pandemic-era losses, manage forecourt congestion and discourage car trips to the terminal. It has proved a reliable earner: the average fee is now £6.70, and where fees rose in the latest round the typical increase was about 41%.