Latest at London City · 6 Jan 2026: London City introduced a drop-off charge for the first time: £8 for up to 5 minutes, £1 per additional minute to a 10-minute maximum, ANPR-enforced and paid online. All updates →
The London City drop-off charge in detail
£8 for up to 5 minutes — highest per-minute rate in the UK (£1.60/min).
If you overstay: £1 per minute beyond 5 minutes; maximum stay 10 minutes.
Where to drop off at London City
The drop-off zone is on the forecourt directly outside the terminal — barrierless ANPR, cameras log your plate, and the maximum stay is 10 minutes.
What the London City drop-off is actually like
London City's drop-off is on the forecourt directly in front of the terminal — effectively at the departures doors, with no car-park level or road to cross.
Source: the airport's own page.
How and when to pay the London City drop-off charge
How: Online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com (run by APCOA for the airport), or register an account for automatic payment.
When: pay by midnight the day after your visit. Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
No barriers and nothing to pay on site — cameras read your plate and you pay online afterwards. Black cabs are different: since April 2026 a £6 drop-off extra goes on the taxi meter instead.
Exemptions: Blue Badge holders get a 100% discount, but only by registering on the payment portal: upload photos of the front and back of the badge and allow up to 5 working days for approval (pay the normal charge if you travel before it comes through). Even once approved, you must log in and process each visit yourself — unless you set up AutoPay, which applies the concession automatically until the badge expires.
Official payment site: dropoff.londoncityairport.com
Free drop-off alternative at London City
London City publishes no free drop-off alternative — No free drop-off; DLR is the practical alternative. The £8 charge applies however briefly you stop.
Every airport's free alternative is in the free drop-off guide — or scan the full comparison table.
Pick-up charges at London City Airport: where to collect and what it costs
The £8 charge and 10-minute maximum apply to the forecourt zone, and an overstay means a Parking Charge Notice — so for collections where you might wait, use the Short Stay car park rather than gambling on the 10 minutes.
How pick-up charging works across the UK: pick-up charges at every airport · the quick comparison.
Getting to the London City drop-off
London City Airport terminal. Follow the drop-off signs on site — the zone can sit a short walk from the doors.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · Get directions →
By rail — London City Airport has its own DLR station at the terminal, with lifts from the platforms straight up to the building.source
Being dropped off isn't the cheap option.
You'll pay London City's £8 twice — once out, once back.
That's £16 in barrier fees before anyone counts the fuel and the two airport runs. And London City publishes no free way round it — so if you're flying, pre-booked parking is the one lever you control.
Pre-book London City parking →Compare: YourParkingSpace
Just dropping someone off? There's no free option here — the £8 applies however brief the stop.
Some parking links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our charges data.
London City drop-off & pick-up FAQs
How much is the drop-off charge at London City Airport?
London City Airport charges £8 for up to 5 minutes at the drop-off area closest to the terminal. If you overstay: £1 per minute beyond 5 minutes; maximum stay 10 minutes.
Is there a free drop-off at London City Airport?
No. London City publishes no free drop-off alternative, so the £8 charge applies however briefly you stop.
How do I pay the London City Airport drop-off charge?
Online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com (run by APCOA for the airport), or register an account for automatic payment. Pay by midnight the day after your visit. Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
Can you pay the London City drop-off charge at a machine or by card at the airport?
No. No barriers and nothing to pay on site — cameras read your plate and you pay online afterwards. Black cabs are different: since April 2026 a £6 drop-off extra goes on the taxi meter instead. Pay by midnight the day after your visit.
Is the London City drop-off charge free for Blue Badge holders?
Blue Badge holders get a 100% discount, but only by registering on the payment portal: upload photos of the front and back of the badge and allow up to 5 working days for approval (pay the normal charge if you travel before it comes through). Even once approved, you must log in and process each visit yourself — unless you set up AutoPay, which applies the concession automatically until the badge expires.
Is there a pick-up charge at London City Airport, and where do you collect?
The £8 charge and 10-minute maximum apply to the forecourt zone, and an overstay means a Parking Charge Notice — so for collections where you might wait, use the Short Stay car park rather than gambling on the 10 minutes.
Has the London City Airport drop-off charge gone up?
Yes. It rose from £6 in 2025 to £8, an increase of about 33%.
Did you know?
London City was the world's first major airport to have its air traffic controlled entirely from a remote digital tower — since 2021, cameras on a 50-metre mast have streamed a 360° view of the airfield to controllers sitting 115 km away in Hampshire.
Source: www.nats.aero
Drop-off charges at airports near London City
Method & corrections
Every charge on this page is checked against the airport's own published charges and stamped with the date we checked it. We re-verify the full dataset quarterly, and after any reported change — see how we check every figure and who maintains the site.
Spotted an error? Email hello@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) — about the data.