Compare popular UK airport drop off & pick-up charges for 2024

Colin Carter

Colin Carter

If you're travelling to a UK airport in 2024 to drop off or pick-up a passenger you should be aware of the likely charges and what free options are available.

Shuttle bus for long term car park at London Gatwick South Terminal
Shuttle bus for long term car park at London Gatwick South Terminal © Andy Soloman - Shutterstock.com

We've researched the drop off/pick-up options at 27 of the UK's most popular airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh plus regional airports such as Southampton, Bristol and Newcastle.

Note: all prices and times are correct as of 18 July 2024.

Free airport drop off at UK airports

There are currently five popular UK airports offering free drop off at the terminal with just two airports, Humberside and Inverness, offering free pick-up.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Humberside Yes Yes Free 15 £5.00 60
Inverness Yes Yes Free 10 £3.50 30
Birmingham Yes No Free 10 £7.50 60
Cardiff Yes No Free 5 £2.00 20
London City Yes No Free 5 £6.90 20

Teesside Airport offers free parking for up to 2 hours when you spend at least £5 in the terminal. Present your receipt to claim the offer.

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Cheapest UK airport drop off charges

Beyond the airports offering free drop offs (shown above) the following UK airports have the cheapest drop off charges. Newcastle, Prestwick and Belfast City all allow pick-ups within the time allocated.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Newcastle Yes Yes £4.00 10 £7.00 15
Glasgow Prestwick Yes Yes £4.00 60 n/a n/a
Belfast City Yes Yes £3.00 10 £5.00 60
Belfast International Yes No £3.00 10 £4.00 20
Teesside Yes No £2.50 10 £5.00 60

Outside of the airports offering free drop offs, Glasgow Prestwick Airport offers the best value drop off and pick-up charges with 60 minutes for just £4.

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Additional FREE drop off/pick-up options

If you want a little longer time for your drop off or pick-up and you’re prepared to be a little further away from the terminal, the following popular UK airports offer free drop off and pick-up options.

Airport Car park Time (mins) Transfer
Aberdeen Long stay 60 5 min walk or 2 min transfer
Belfast City Long stay 10 5 min walk
Bristol Waiting zone 60 7-9 min transfer
Cardiff Lon stay 20 6 min walk
East Midlands Long stay 60 15-20 min walk
Edinburgh Long stay 30 10 min walk
Glasgow Long stay 60 7 min walk or 5 min transfer
Liverpool Drop off 2 20 7-8 min walk
London Gatwick Long stay 120 10-12 min transfer
London Heathrow Long stay 29 10-20 min transfer
London Luton Mid stay
Long stay		 20
60		 5 min transfer
10 min transfer
London Stansted Mid stay 60 7 min transfer
Manchester Jetparks 1 n/a 5-6 min transfer
Southend Long stay 15 3-5 min walk

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Most expensive UK airport drop off charges

Below are the most expensive drop off charges at UK airports with London Stansted top of the list with a £7 charge for up to 15 minutes. This is followed by Leeds Bradford at £6.50 for up to 10 minutes for both drop offs and pick-ups.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
London Stansted Yes No £7.00 15 £10.00 30
Leeds Bradford Yes Yes £6.50 10 £13.00 60
London Gatwick Yes No £6.00 10 £6.00 30
Bristol Yes No £6.00 10 £6.00 30
Southampton Yes Yes £6.00 20 £12.00 60
Aberdeen Yes No £5.50 15 £5.00 20
Glasgow Yes Yes £5.50 15 £7.00 20

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Airport drop off & pick-up charges by region

Explore the airport drop off and pick-up charges for popular airports across the UK by region. Check out the options at the terminal and at the short stay car park. In most cases there is just a short walk to the terminal building.

London

Of the five London airports, only London City offers free drop off at the terminal. None of the airports allow pick-ups at the terminal. Charges range from £5 to £7 for drop off at terminals with all airports offering drop off and pick-up at the short stay car parks.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
London City Yes No Free 5 £6.90 20
London Gatwick Yes No £6.00 10 £6.00 30
London Heathrow Yes No £5.00 n/a £7.50 29
London Luton Yes No £5.00 5 £9.50 30
London Stansted Yes No £7.00 15 £10.00 30

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England

The majority of airports in England charge £5 for drop offs at the terminal with just Humberside and Birmingham offering drop offs for free. Leeds Bradford, Bristol and Manchester are the most expensive English airports outside of London.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Birmingham Yes No Free 10 £7.50 60
Bournemouth Yes Yes £5.00 30 £5.00 30
Bristol Yes No £6.00 10 £6.00 30
East Midlands Yes No £5.00 15 £6.00 30
Exeter Yes Yes £5.00 30 £5.00 30
Humberside Yes Yes Free 15 £5.00 60
Leeds Bradford Yes Yes £6.50 10 £13.00 60
Liverpool Yes Yes £5.00 10 £8.00 30
Manchester Yes No £5.00 5 £6.00 30
Newcastle Yes Yes £4.00 10 £7.00 15
Norwich Yes Yes £5.00 30 £5.00 30
Southampton Yes Yes £6.00 20 £12.00 60
Southend Yes Yes £5.00 10 £8.50 30
Teesside Yes No £2.50 10 £5.00 60

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Scotland

Only Inverness Airport offers free drop offs and pick-ups at the terminal. Glasgow Prestwick Airport is the best value drop off with £4 for up to 60 minutes wait time.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Aberdeen Yes No £5.50 15 £5.00 20
Edinburgh Yes Yes £5.00 10 £6.00 15
Glasgow Yes Yes £5.50 15 £7.00 20
Glasgow Prestwick Yes Yes £4.00 60 n/a n/a
Inverness Yes Yes Free 10 £3.50 30

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Wales

Cardiff Airport offers free drop off within 5 minutes with longer stays and pick-ups from the short stay car park at just £2 for the first 20 minutes.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Cardiff Yes No Free 5 £2.00 20

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Northern Ireland

Both Belfast airports charge £3 for drop off with Belfast City also allowing pick-ups as long as you only stay for 10 minutes. If you need longer there is a short stay car park available.

Airport At terminal Short stay option
Drop off Pick-up Price Time (mins) Price Time (mins)
Belfast City Yes Yes £3.00 10 £5.00 60
Belfast International Yes No £3.00 10 £4.00 20

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Research data sources

All prices and times have been extracted from the official airport websites and are correct as of 18 July 2024. Information is subject to change and is published for guidance only. We recommend checking drop off/pick-up prices and times at time of travel.

Colin Carter

Colin Carter

Posted on Monday 1st July 2024

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