How to pay a UK airport drop-off charge

The short answer

Each airport's page carries its own verification date and source. Charges and deadlines change without notice — reconfirm on the day.

Every UK airport where you pay the drop-off charge afterwards

The 9 post-pay airports, with where to pay, the deadline and the penalty. Each has its own step-by-step page.

How post-pay drop-off charges work

There is no barrier, no ticket and — with one exception — no machine. A camera reads your number plate as you enter the drop-off zone, the system records the visit, and it is up to you to pay it afterwards by going to the airport's payment site (or ringing its automated line) and entering your registration. The only airport in this group that still keeps on-site machines is Birmingham; everywhere else the zone itself has nothing to pay at, which is precisely why the visit feels free and the deadline gets missed.

The newest charges all launched this way — London City's, introduced in January 2026, has never had a barrier — and the trend is one direction: 9 of the 29 airports in our index now run camera-enforced post-pay, against 16 that still take payment at a barrier or on exit.

How long do you have to pay?

Almost always until midnight the day after your visit. Birmingham is the outlier at 24 hours from exit. The deadline is measured from the visit, so a Friday evening drop-off at most of these airports must be paid by 23:59 on Saturday. If you set up the airport's autopay or account option — available at Birmingham, East Midlands, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton and London Stansted — the deadline stops mattering, because each visit is charged automatically.

What happens if you don't pay?

At the airports that publish an amount, an unpaid visit becomes a Parking Charge Notice of £80–£100, reduced if paid within 14 days; London Gatwick and London Southend issue notices without publishing the amount. The penalty is out of all proportion to the charge — at Heathrow, £80 for a £7 visit — and it arrives after the event, when the drop-off is long forgotten. Each airport's page quotes its exact wording.

Which airports have a phone line?

East Midlands (03452 221517), London Gatwick (0330 174 4503), London Heathrow (0330 008 5600), London Stansted (03450 175046) and Manchester (03459 013318) run automated payment lines alongside their websites. Birmingham, London City, London Luton and London Southend are online-only in the material we checked (Birmingham also has machines on site).

Airports where you pay on the spot instead

If you're heading to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Belfast International, Bournemouth, City of Derry, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Glasgow Prestwick, Inverness, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton and Teesside, there is no portal to find afterwards: you pay at a barrier, a machine or on exit, and overstaying simply moves you up the tariff rather than triggering a notice. The price index explains the two systems side by side.

Three habits that avoid the penalty

1. Pay before you leave the airport. From the car park, on your phone, while the visit is still fresh.
2. Set up autopay if you do the run regularly. Taxi, private-hire and school-run-to-the-airport drivers should treat it as compulsory.
3. Use the free alternative and skip the charge entirely. Nearly every post-pay airport keeps a free Park & Ride or Long Stay window a shuttle ride away — the free drop-off guide lists them all.

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