Gatwick Airport drop-off fees soar and bosses blame the Chancellor
From January, drivers will have to shell out £10 if they wish to use drop-off zones at the West Sussex airport
Gatwick is the latest UK airport to increase the price of its drop-off service, meaning drivers will have to pay even more to see off their loved ones next year.
From 6 January, motorists visiting the airport to drop off holidaymakers will have to fork out a minimum of £10 to utilise one of Gatwick’s several drop-off zones – a rise of £3 from the current £7 fee. Blue Badge holders will remain exempt from the charge.
Blaming the recent price hike on the jump in business rates as a result of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ 2025 Autumn Budget, a Gatwick spokesperson said: “This increase in the drop-off charge is not a decision we have taken lightly.
“We are facing a number of increasing costs, including a more than doubling of our business rate,” they continued. “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, alongside funding a number of sustainable transport initiatives.”
The RAC’s senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “The words ‘Happy New Year’ are unlikely to be uttered by drivers dropping off friends and family at Gatwick in January. A more than 40 per cent 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.”
When Gatwick first introduced its drop-off charge in 2021, the fee was set at £5. This has gradually increased since then and drivers have until midnight the following day to pay it off, or face an eye-watering £100 fine (which is reduced to a still-painful £60 if paid within 14 days).
Clive Wratten is the CEO of the Business Travel Association and described the increase as a “naked money grab”, as well as “a convenient excuse to increase fees that are already out of step with the passenger experience and the reality of regional connectivity”.
This comes soon after London Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, raised its drop-off fee to £7 and introduced its own 10-minute time limit in order to bring itself more in-line with similar offerings elsewhere.
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