Gatwick Airport’s drop-off fee rises to £10

Getty ImagesDrop-off expenses had been launched at Gatwick in 2021Gatwick Airport is growing the worth of its drop-off zones by £3, bringing the minimal cost to £10.The price to permit drivers to cease outdoors the terminal for 10 minutes is about to extend on 6 January. The airport mentioned the rise was “not a choice we now have taken evenly” and blamed “various growing prices, together with a greater than doubling of our enterprise charges”.Rod Dennis, RAC senior coverage officer, mentioned: “The phrases ‘Pleased New 12 months’ are unlikely to be uttered by drivers dropping off family and friends at Gatwick in January.”He added: “A greater than 40% improve in the fee to drop-off is the biggest we have ever seen and represents a doubling of the price because it first got here in.”Southend Airport expenses £7 for drop-off of as much as 5 minutes, however that will increase to £15 for between 5 and thirty minutes. A drop-off price of £5 was launched at Gatwick in March 2021.That elevated to £6 in 2024, with the fee rising once more to £7 in Could. A Gatwick spokesperson mentioned: “Passengers can nonetheless be dropped off free of charge in our long-stay automotive parks, with a free shuttle bus to the terminal. “We even have wonderful public transport connectivity on the airport, with passengers capable of join straight with greater than 120 practice stations.”Many native bus routes serve the airport 24  hours a day, seven days per week.”Blue Badge holders stay exempt from the cost.’Sustainable transport’The assertion added: “The rise within the drop-off cost will help wider efforts to encourage higher use of public transport, serving to restrict the variety of vehicles and cut back congestion on the entrance to our terminals.”It can fund various sustainable transport initiatives – similar to our £1m funding in new and enhanced Metrobus routes in 2025.”Drop-off charges are additionally rising at Heathrow from 1 January from £6 to £7.London Metropolis is the UK’s final main airport with no drop-off price, is to introduce one later this month.Out of mainland Europe’s greatest 10 airports just one, Schiphol in Amsterdam expenses to drop-off, based on RAC analysis.