What changed
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.
Took effect 6 Jan 2026; see the change log. The figures below are from today's data, checked against London City Airport's own pages on 25 Oct 2026.
The key facts
- Airport
- London City
- The charge now
- £8 for up to 5 minutes
- Before
- No charge at the terminal
- Took effect
- 6 Jan 2026
- Source
- dropoff.londoncityairport.com
- Last checked
- 25 Oct 2026
How London City now compares
At £8, London City is the joint 6th most expensive of the 29 UK airports we track, £1.26 above the UK average of £6.74. See every airport ranked in the price index. Nothing is paid at the zone: pay by midnight the day after your visit, as set out in how to pay at London City.
| Nearby airport | Drop-off charge | Time allowed |
|---|---|---|
| London Gatwick | £10 | 10 minutes |
| London Southend | £8 | 10 minutes |
| London Heathrow | £7 | Charged per entry |
| London Luton | £9 | 12 minutes |
| London Stansted | £10 | 15 minutes |
How to avoid paying it
London City publishes no free alternative, so the £8 applies however briefly you stop. The London City drop-off guide has directions, pick-up rules and the Blue Badge position, and the free drop-off guide covers every airport.
Every change we've logged at London City
- 25 Oct 2026: London City corrected: the drop-off zone was free until the £8 charge began on 6 January 2026, so there was no earlier £6 fee as our record showed. Pick-ups use the Pick-Up Zone in the Short Stay car park (from £10 for 20 minutes), and the operator publishes only the discounted £60 Parking Charge amount, so we no longer quote £100.
- 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 changes at every airport are in the change log. If you're writing about this, the figures are free to quote under CC BY 4.0: see the press page.
London City drop-off charge: your questions
How much is drop-off at London City Airport now?
£8 for up to 5 minutes, checked against London City Airport's own pages on 25 Oct 2026.
When did London City introduce its drop-off charge?
It took effect on 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.
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.