Key statistics, ready to quote
All figures verified against the airports' own published charges; last full review 25 Aug 2026. Quote freely with attribution to airportdropoffcharges.co.uk.
| Statistic | Figure |
|---|---|
| Airports tracked | 29 — every major UK airport |
| Average charge (where charged) | £6.59 across 27 airports |
| Highest charge | £10 — London Gatwick and London Stansted |
| Steepest per-minute rate | £1.60/min — London City (£8 for 5 minutes) |
| Airports still free at the terminal | 2 of 29 — Cornwall Newquay and Humberside |
| Typical rise where fees increased | +39% across 15 recorded rises |
| Largest recorded rise | +80% — London Luton, £5 (2024) to £9 |
Story angles the data supports
The £100 pick-up trap: Manchester charges £100 for attempting to collect passengers in its Drop Off zones — and Heathrow bans pick-ups from its drop-off zones outright. The end of free: London City introduced its first-ever charge in January 2026 and Southend withdrew its free option, leaving just Cornwall Newquay and Humberside free at the terminal. The hidden re-entry charges: returning within the hour costs £68 at Leeds Bradford's "free" zone and £48 at Stansted's Mid Stay. The cashless divide: 9 airports now charge by camera and post-payment, where a missed midnight deadline turns a few pounds into a Parking Charge Notice of up to £100. Every claim is sourced on the relevant airport's guide, and the updates log timestamps each change as we verify it.
Charts, images and data you can use
Per-airport fee cards (1200×630, one for each of the 29 airports) are free to reuse in coverage with credit — for example Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, or swap any airport's name into /img/<airport>.png. The full dataset is CC BY 4.0: JSON, CSV, or the ranked price index as a citable page. The embeddable table drops the live comparison into any article.
Contact & about the publisher
Airport Drop-Off Charges is an independent reference built and maintained by one person, Rick — it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or funded by any airport. Every figure is checked against the airport's own published charges and stamped with its verification date; corrections are made visibly. For interviews, data requests, regional breakdowns or a comment on a fee change: hello@airportdropoffcharges.co.uk — replies usually same day.
Press: your questions
Can I reuse this data in an article?
Yes — the dataset is licensed CC BY 4.0. Quote figures, embed the table or reuse the charts with attribution to airportdropoffcharges.co.uk.
How is the data verified?
Every figure is checked against the relevant airport's own published charges and dated. The full set is re-verified quarterly and after any reported change; corrections are logged publicly on the updates page.
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).