Passenger drop-off fees hit record highs as most expensive airports revealed

Fees for drivers dropping off holiday-goers have increased at more than a third of UK airports.

Since August 2022, eight out of 21 airports analysed by the RAC have either raised or introduced charges for dropping off passengers.

It said motorists should “brace themselves” for record-high fees.

Southampton Airport and Belfast International Airport saw the biggest hike in prices, with the former raising the fee from £4 to £6 for 20 minutes and the latter from £1 to £3 for 10 minutes.

Despite not raising its price this year, Stansted Airport continues to top the table for the most expensive drop-off cost at £7 for 15 minutes.

Aberdeen, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool John Lennon airports have each added £1 to their fees while London’s Heathrow froze the fee at £5 with no time limit.

The only airports – out of those analysed – which allow free drop-offs outside terminals were Cardiff, Inverness and London City.

Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at RAC said the annual rise in airport fees has become a “ritual”, adding that people are increasingly pressed to ask friends and family to drop them off due to industrial action on the railway.

“Being dropped off at the airport by car is the only reliable way to make their flight on time,” he said.

“Drivers tempted to drop loved ones on the roads inside the boundaries of the airport should beware as many enforce no-stopping areas with cameras which could lead to hefty penalty charges.”

Numerous airports offer free options for dropping passengers off in mid or long-stay car parks, which are further away from terminal buildings but connected by buses.

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