Which UK airports are the worst for drop-off and pick-up charges?
Airport drop-off and pick-up charges are contentious. The fees to park up for a relatively short period can be significant, and that feels unfair when you’re simply doing a friend or loved one a favour. Airports are hungry for revenue, and that means charging for anything that can get away with.
The research methodology
In late 2025, I analysed 39 airports across the UK, ranging from the busiest (Heathrow) to the tiniest of Scottish island airports.
(This post is part of a series focused on data around travel, the first being an analysis of the occupancy of BA’s lounges)
- I split the airports into three groups based primarily on passenger numbers
- I noted the cost of drop-off and pick-up. For this, I took the average of three different wait times.
- Drop-offs, I looked at the price of a 5, 10 and 20-minute drop-off and took the mean average.
- Pick-ups, I noted the cost of a 10, 20 and 30-minute pick-up and took the mean average.
- I also noted any free drop-off options, and if they were remote, how long it takes to get to the terminal.
- I also looked at the maximum fines incurred when you forget to pay drop-off or pick-up charges. Six UK airports allow you to leave without paying, but if you miss their payment deadline, you’ll get a fine.
Research headlines
- Heathrow is the cheapest Tier 1 airport to drop off and pick up passengers
- Manchester, Luton and Stansted are the most expensive Tier 1 UK airports
- Stansted charges more than double for an average drop off versus Heathrow
- London City is the only airport in the capital that allows a free drop-off at the terminal
- All Tier 1 airports offer a free option, which requires a ten-minute bus journey or a walk to reach the terminal.
- All of the top 5 UK airports, by passenger volume (CAA 2024 data), operate a “pay after you leave” approach, with fines of up to £100 levied for non-payers.
The best and the worst
Across all UK airports, the most expensive place to do a drop-off and a pick-up is London Southend. It’ll cost you £24.67 on average. That’s astonishing for an airport that’s the 30th busiest in the UK.
Stansted is the second most expensive airport in the UK. You’ll need to find £23 on average for a drop off and a pick up, just a little more than Luton at £22.67.
A surprise in the most expensive list is Liverpool. Some laud the airport as a better option than Manchester, yet an average drop off and pick up will cost you £21, tying with Bristol as the most expensive for Tier 2 airports. Aberdeen is the most expensive airport in Scotland, costing £19.
The most expensive UK airports
| Airport | Ave. Drop Off | Ave. Pick Up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Southend | £12.33 | £12.33 | £24.67 |
| London Stansted | £13.00 | £10.00 | £23.00 |
| London Luton | £10.33 | £12.33 | £22.67 |
| Liverpool | £7.33 | £13.67 | £21.00 |
| Bristol | £7.67 | £13.33 | £21.00 |
| Aberdeen | £6.83 | £12.17 | £19.00 |
The cheapest UK airports
A number of smaller UK airports offer free parking, and the majority of these are tiny airports in Scotland. To make this list fairer, I’m only showing the airports that are in the top 20 in terms of passenger numbers.
| Airport | Ave. Drop Off | Ave. Pick Up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Cardiff | £4.00 | £4.00 | £8.00 |
| Belfast International | £3.67 | £6.00 | £9.67 |
| Bournemouth | £5.00 | £5.00 | £10.00 |
| East Midlands | £6.67 | £6.00 | £12.67 |
| Belfast City | £4.67 | £10.00 | £14.67 |
What about the free options?
Twenty of the thirty-nine airports I analysed have a remote (free) drop-off or pick-up option. That means a walk or a bus to the terminal itself, which isn’t ideal at the end of a long flight.
On average, across all airports, it’s a seven-minute journey from the terminal; however, for shuttle buses, this doesn’t take into account the time spent waiting for the bus or walking to/from the bus to the car.
It’s an option, but it’s not a great option. Who wants to wait for a bus, sit on it for ten minutes, then walk to a car after a long flight?
Not fine: “pay after exit”.
All of the top five airports in the UK have a “pay after you leave” approach to their drop-off and pick-up areas, which are closest to the terminal.
On the surface, this sounds great: just jump in your car and drive off. No need to put your money into a pay machine, and no queues at the barrier as people pop in their credit cards.
What’s not great is that if you forget to make a payment, then you’ll be hit by a fine. The maximum ranges from £80 (Heathrow) to £100 (Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick). I imagine it’s very easy to forget to pay.
Two drop-off oddities
Two airports do things a little differently. Teesside Airport will give you two hours of free parking if you spend £5 or more in the airport terminal.
That’s not a bad deal, as the average cost to drop off is £3.33, and pickup is £4.17. A coffee and a piece of cake in the pre-departure cafe (the bar before security is currently closed) and you’ll cut that cost to zero.
Leeds Airport offers an hour of free parking if you’re driving an electric car. That’s a generous amount of time.
The league tables
Tier 1 UK Airports
These are UK airports with over 15 million passengers annually, or they have a strategic national role. You would expect these airports to be at the front line of squeezing revenue from passengers.
What’s surprising – nay, very surprising – is that Heathrow is the cheapest option. Just £13.50 on average to cover a drop off and a pick-up. That’s almost half of the most expensive, which is Stansted. Not far behind, in fact just 33 pence cheaper on average, is Luton.
Manchester follows as the third most expensive Tier 1 airport. On average, it’ll cost you £17.33 to do a drop off and a pick up.
| Airport | Ave. Drop Off | Ave. Pick Up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow | £6.00 | £7.50 | £13.50 |
| Glasgow | £7.67 | £7.67 | £15.33 |
| Birmingham | £7.67 | £9.50 | £17.17 |
| London Gatwick | £10.33 | £7.00 | £17.33 |
| Edinburgh | £9.33 | £9.33 | £18.67 |
| Manchester | £12.13 | £6.82 | £18.96 |
| London Luton | £10.33 | £12.33 | £22.67 |
| London Stansted | £13.00 | £10.00 | £23.00 |
Tier 2 UK Airports
The mid-sized Tier 2 airports are the larger regionals, with between 1 and 15 million passengers a year, or they act as a regional hub.
Topping the list are Liverpool and Bristol, both charging £21 for an average drop-off or pick-up. That’s more expensive than six of the eight tier 1 airports. For context, their costs are higher than Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.
Jersey is the first entrant so far that charges absolutely nothing for drop off and pick-up, and it’s the only airport in the top 30 that’s free.
| Airport | Ave. Drop Off | Ave. Pick Up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Cardiff | £4.00 | £4.00 | £8.00 |
| Belfast International | £3.67 | £6.00 | £9.67 |
| East Midlands | £6.67 | £6.00 | £12.67 |
| Belfast City (George Best) | £4.67 | £10.00 | £14.67 |
| Newcastle | £6.67 | £9.67 | £16.33 |
| Leeds Bradford | £7.67 | £9.17 | £16.83 |
| London City | £7.27 | £9.57 | £16.83 |
| Aberdeen | £6.83 | £12.17 | £19.00 |
| Bristol | £7.67 | £13.33 | £21.00 |
| Liverpool John Lennon | £7.33 | £13.67 | £21.00 |
Tier 3 UK Airports
This list includes smaller regional airports and islands, and as you’d expect from airports that might only have one or two small scheduled flights every day, there’s no scope to charge for pick-up or drop off.
Guernsey is the busiest airport in this list that doesn’t charge. The biggest suprise is that Southend, an airport ranked the 30th busiest in the UK, charges the most out of all UK airports. That’s nearly twice as much as Heathrow.
| Airport | Ave. Drop Off | Ave. Pick Up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwall | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Stornoway | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Sumburgh | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Benbecula | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Barra | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Campbeltown | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Tiree | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Guernsey | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| City of Derry | £1.00 | £1.00 | £2.00 |
| Cornwall Newquay | £0.83 | £1.67 | £2.50 |
| Dundee | £1.50 | £1.50 | £3.00 |
| Isle Of Man | £1.00 | £2.00 | £3.00 |
| Inverness | £3.53 | £2.53 | £6.07 |
| Teesside International | £3.33 | £4.17 | £7.50 |
| Glasgow Prestwick | £4.50 | £4.50 | £9.00 |
| Exeter | £5.00 | £5.00 | £10.00 |
| Bournemouth | £5.00 | £5.00 | £10.00 |
| Norwich | £5.00 | £5.00 | £10.00 |
| Southampton | £7.00 | £9.67 | £16.67 |
| London Southend | £12.33 | £12.33 | £24.67 |
The verdict on airport drop-off charges
There are certainly some surprises in the list of the cheapest and most expensive airports. It’s unlikely you would have predicted Southend as the most expensive, nor Heathrow being decidedly mid-tier on costs. Manchester, the king of squeezing that last penny from passengers, sits mid-table too.
What’s not surprising is that it’s not cheap to drop someone off at the terminal at most airports. The reality is that if they can charge for something, they will.
It’s worth reminding ourselves of all the ways that airports make money from us:
- Fees from the airlines that take off or land at the airport
- Fast-track security when flying out
- Fast-track passport control
- Airport lounges
- Rent or, more likely, revenue share from restaurants, bars and coffee shops
- Parking fees
- Revenue from taxi or rideshare companies.
It’s almost, but not completely, impossible to use an airport and not give money to the owners.
So what’s the future for drop-off and pick-up charges? I don’t foresee it getting any cheaper. It’s a revenue stream that the airports will want to retain, and slowly nudge up the price over time.
The only positives around getting to or from airports is the improvements in public transport and the ability to get home, or close to home, without needing a car.
For example, it would take me almost two hours to get from my home to Manchester Airport, and I would need to take a bus, a tram, a train, and then walk for fifteen minutes. That same journey takes 35 minutes in a car.
2 comments
David Thorne
Airports are ripping people off as you’ve bought your ticket and your going to spend money in there so pick up and drop off should be free for 15 minutes I agree when you park there you should pay
P Taylor.
I’m shocked to read that our local airport, Southend, is the most expensive. No wonder that there are loads of people who pull up in the adjacent shopping area car park, or on the road outside, both of which are only less than 150m from the main door of the terminal.
There was a free drop off area inside the long stay car park, even closer to the terminal door, but I’m not sure if it is still there.