The short answer
Pay the London City Airport drop-off charge (£8) by midnight the day after your visit: online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com or automatically with an autopay account. Nothing is paid at the zone — cameras record your number plate and you pay afterwards. Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
Charges and deadlines change without notice — reconfirm on the day.
Key facts: paying the London City drop-off charge
- Charge
- £8 for up to 5 minutes — highest per-minute rate in the UK (£1.60/min)
- If you stay longer
- £1 per minute beyond 5 minutes; maximum stay 10 minutes
- Pay by
- By midnight the day after your visit
- Pay online
- dropoff.londoncityairport.com
- Pay by phone
- Not listed by the airport
- Pay at the airport
- No — nothing to pay at the zone; ANPR cameras log your plate
- Autopay / account
- Yes — register an account and each visit is charged automatically, so there is no deadline to remember
- If you don't pay
- Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
- 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.
- Verified
- 25 Aug 2026, against dropoff.londoncityairport.com
How to pay the London City drop-off charge, step by step
- Drop off as normal. There is no barrier and no ticket at London City's drop-off zone — ANPR cameras record your registration on entry.
- Pay by midnight the day after your visit. Go to dropoff.londoncityairport.com. You'll be asked for your vehicle registration so the system can match your visit, then you pay by card.
- Keep the confirmation. Hold on to the payment reference or email until well after the deadline has passed, in case of a query or a notice sent in error.
- Regular user? Set up autopay. London City offers an account that charges each visit automatically, with no deadline to remember — worth it if you make this run more than a couple of times a year.
When is the deadline to pay?
Pay by midnight the day after your visit. The deadline runs from the visit, not from when you remember it, and because nothing is paid on site the trip can feel free — that is exactly how people get caught. The habit that works: pay from the car park before you drive off, or as soon as you get home.
What happens if you don't pay?
Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. If a notice does arrive, pay it inside the 14-day window for the reduced amount; the notice itself sets out how to challenge it if you believe it was issued in error.
Can you pay 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. There is no card reader and no attendant to pay, so don't wait for one — the visit only looks free. Pay from the car park, or as soon as you're home.
Is there an autopay or account option?
Yes. Online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com (run by APCOA for the airport), or register an account for automatic payment. With an account in place each visit is charged automatically and the deadline stops mattering — the sensible default for anyone who does the London City run regularly, including taxi and private-hire drivers.
Who doesn't have to pay?
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. How each UK airport treats Blue Badge holders varies enormously — the Blue Badge drop-off guide compares all 29.
How to avoid the charge next time
London City publishes no free drop-off alternative, so the £8 applies however brief the stop. The free drop-off guide lists the airports that still offer one.
Collecting someone is a different transaction — see the pick-up rules for London City and the UK pick-up charges guide.
If you're the one flying next time
No drop-off charge, no collection car park, no deadline to remember: park.
Pre-booked parking at London City means nobody pays the £8 forecourt charge on the way out, nobody sits in a car park waiting for your bags on the way back, and there is nothing to settle by midnight the next day. The car is waiting when you land.
Pre-book London City parking →
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our charges data.
Sources
- London City Airport — drop-off charge terms: https://dropoff.londoncityairport.com (checked 25 Aug 2026)
- Official payment site: https://dropoff.londoncityairport.com
- Our full entry for this airport, with location, pick-up rules and fee history: London City drop-off charge
Paying at London City: your questions
How do I pay the London City Airport drop-off charge?
Pay the London City Airport drop-off charge (£8) by midnight the day after your visit: online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com or automatically with an autopay account. Nothing is paid at the zone — cameras record your number plate and you pay afterwards. Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.
When do I have to pay the London City drop-off charge by?
Pay by midnight the day after your visit. Nothing is paid at the zone — settle it online afterwards.
What happens if I forget to pay the London City drop-off charge?
Non-payment or exceeding the 10-minute maximum brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. If a notice does arrive, pay it inside the 14-day window for the reduced amount; the notice itself sets out how to challenge it if you believe it was issued in error.
Can I pay the London City drop-off charge 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.
Can I pay the London City drop-off charge by phone?
The airport lists no phone line in the material we checked; pay online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com.
Can I pay the London City drop-off charge in advance or automatically?
Yes. Online at dropoff.londoncityairport.com (run by APCOA for the airport), or register an account for automatic payment. An account charges each visit automatically, so there is no deadline to remember.
Do Blue Badge holders pay the London City drop-off charge?
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.
How much is the London City drop-off charge?
£8 for up to 5 minutes; £1 per minute beyond 5 minutes; maximum stay 10 minutes. Where the zone is, the free alternative and the pick-up rules are in the London City drop-off guide at https://airportdropoffcharges.co.uk/london-city/.
Method & corrections
Every figure 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 work and who maintains it.
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).