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Drop-off charges were introduced at Gatwick in 2021
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.
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”.
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.”
Southend Airport charges £7 for drop-off of up to five minutes, but that increases to £15 for between five and thirty minutes.
A drop-off fee of £5 was introduced at Gatwick 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.
‘Sustainable transport’
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.
London City is the UK’s last major airport without a drop-off fee, is to introduce one later this month.
Out of mainland Europe’s biggest 10 airports only one, Schiphol in Amsterdam charges to drop-off, according to RAC research.
