Drivers are facing a massive hike in drop-off fees at most UK airports, research has shown. Anyone dropping off travellers at the terminal doors will have to pay out up to £7 for 15 minutes while some of the busiest airports have starting charging drop-off fees for the first time ever.
Cardiff Airport is one of a handful of UK airports offering free drop-off areas. But research carried out by the RAC showed London Stansted tops the drop-off charges table with a whopping initial fee of £7 for 15 minutes (in summer 2019 it was £4 for 10 minutes). While London Luton has increased its initial drop-off charges to £5 for 10 minutes compared to 2019 when it was £4 for 13 minutes.
The price hike will hit many travellers jetting off this summer for the first time since 2019. Up until this year, Britain’s two busiest airports Heathrow and Gatwick had allowed drop-offs without charging. But this summer, people should expect to pay £5, which will get you just 10 minutes at Gatwick and an unspecified number of minutes at Heathrow.
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It's a similar picture outside the capital. Manchester Airport now charges a fiver for a five-minute drop off, compared to £3 in 2019 while Liverpool John Lennon has raised its fees to £4 for 10 minutes (an increase from £3 for 20 minutes). Bristol and East Midlands Airports have both put up their charges to £5 for 10 minutes and 15 minutes respectively – Bristol Airport’s hike is especially galling as it was charging £1 for 10 minutes in 2019.
At the cheaper end of the scale, Birmingham and Belfast International Airports have kept their fees the same since 2019 (£3 for 15 minutes and £1 for 10 minutes respectively) while drivers can take still advantage of free-drop off areas near the terminal entrance at Cardiff, London City and Belfast City airports.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: "Anyone dropping a loved one off at the terminal this summer will be stunned by some of these sky-high ‘kiss and drop’ charges. And for those using the UK’s two busiest airports, the luxury of free drop-offs outside the terminal building has been replaced by some pretty high fees. Minute for minute and pound for pound, some of these charges could almost be as high as the airfare itself."
Drop-off charges were meant to encourage travellers to use public transport to get to the airport, but with strikes impacting the rail network this summer and public transport options being limited at some airports, people will understandably seek more reliable ways to get to the terminal and that usually means asking a friend or relative to give them a lift. Mr Lyes added: "The increase in drop-off fees, combined with high fuel prices, means taking loved-ones to the airport this summer is more expensive than ever."
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