Sixteen of the 22 airports analyzed have introduced or increased passenger drop-off charges in the past three years, according to RAC research. The car services firm claimed drivers will be “surprised” by some of the “high” charges. Stansted Airport continues to top the table for the most expensive “kiss and fly” charges, which are usually charged to drop someone off as close to the terminal as possible. Essex Airport’s initial charge is £7 for up to 15 minutes, up from £4 for 10 minutes in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. A Stansted spokesman said the charge “makes an important contribution to encouraging alternative, more sustainable transport options and reducing congestion at the airport and surrounding roads”. It is one of several airports that offer free passenger drop-off options in medium- or long-term car parks connected to bus terminals. Eight airports charge £5 for disembarking passengers. They include the UK’s two busiest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, which introduced the charge last year. Manchester Airport is giving drivers five minutes to drop travelers off for £5 (up from £3 in 2019), while Liverpool John Lennon Airport has increased its fees from £3 for 20 minutes to £4 for 10 minutes. Bristol Airport has increased its starting charge for 10 minutes from £1 to £5. Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow airports have all doubled their charges in the past three years to £4 for 10 minutes. Airports generally charge more for exceeding the time limits associated with their initial charges. Birmingham and Belfast International airports have kept their charges the same since 2019 (£3 for 15 minutes and £1 for 10 minutes respectively), while drivers can still take advantage of free drop-off areas near terminal entrances station in Cardiff, London and Belfast City. Nicholas Lyes, head of road policy at the RAC, said limited public transport options for some airports and concerns about train strikes meant many passengers were asking a friend or relative to give them a lift. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He said: “Anyone dropping off a loved one at the terminal this summer will be surprised by some of these high kiss and drop charges. “And for those using the UK’s two busiest airports, the luxury of a free transfer outside the terminal building has been replaced by quite high fees. “Minute for minute and pound for pound, some of these charges could be almost as high as the plane ticket itself.” Lyes said it appeared many airports had raised fees to “partially offset the two years of lost revenue” during the pandemic. He advised drivers to research the charges before heading to airports and warned them to be aware that many sites use cameras to enforce parking bans in certain areas. “Trying to disembark passengers without paying could result in a hefty charge,” he added. A spokesman for industry body the Airport Managers Association said airports provided clear information about parking and drop-off charges to ensure travelers were “well informed about the range of options to suit their needs”. They added: “Airports that operate direct-out-of-terminal charges do so for a number of different reasons, including managing congestion in capacity-constrained areas and limiting the environmental and air quality impacts of kiss-and-fly travel.” .
