Gatwick Airports drop-off fee rises to £10, UKs highest charge

Gatwick Airport is increasing the price of its drop-off zones by £3, bringing the minimum charge to £10.

The fee to allow drivers to stop outside the terminal for 10 minutes is set to increase on 6 January, making the West Sussex airport the most expensive to drop passengers off in the UK.

The airport said the increase was “not a decision we have taken lightly” and blamed “a number of increasing costs, including a more than doubling of our business rates, which we are unable to absorb”.

Rod Dennis, RAC senior policy officer, said: “The words ‘Happy New Year’ are unlikely to be uttered by drivers dropping off friends and family at Gatwick in January.”

He added: “A more than 40% increase in the cost to drop-off is the largest we’ve ever seen and represents a doubling of the fee since it first came in.”

A drop-off fee of £5 was introduced at the airport in March 2021.

That increased to £6 in 2024, with the cost rising again to £7 in May.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “Passengers can still be dropped off for free in our long-stay car parks, with a free shuttle bus to the terminal.

“We also have excellent public transport connectivity at the airport, with passengers able to connect directly with more than 120 train stations.

“Many local bus routes serve the airport 24  hours a day, seven days a week.”

Blue Badge holders remain exempt from the charge.

The statement added: “The increase in the drop-off charge will support wider efforts to encourage greater use of public transport, helping limit the number of cars and reduce congestion at the entrance to our terminals.

“It will fund a number of sustainable transport initiatives – such as our £1m investment in new and enhanced Metrobus routes in 2025.”

Drop-off fees are also rising at Heathrow from 1 January from £6 to £7, but Gatwick’s charges remain the highest in the UK.

At London City and Inverness airports drivers do not pay to drop off passengers.