Airports named and shamed for eye-watering passenger drop-off prices - some now charge nearly £1 per minute
- At Stansted Airport, a 30 minute drop off or collection could cost £25
- Meanwhile at Southend Airport, a 10 minute drop off costs a hefty £4.50
- Many airports offer free drop off zones, but these can be away from terminal
The cost for drivers to drop off or pick-up passengers at British airports can now cost nearly £1 per minute, figures show.
With a 30 minute drop off at London Stansted airport costing £25, drivers have to fork out nearly £1 a minute for the privilege of getting to the runway on time.
Most airport drop offs do not take half an hour, but even a 10 minute stop directly outside a terminal can be costly, at up to £4.50 a pop.
Expensive: A 10 minute drop off at London Southend Airport will cost you £4.50
Out of the 30 busiest airports in the country, Southend is the most expensive when it comes to a quick drop off right by the terminal, costing £4.50 for a 10 minute stop, Civil Aviation Authority figures analysed by taxi insurance firm Staveley Head show.
More than half of the country's busiest airports charge for a brief five minute drop off, with London Stansted being the most expensive at £3.
Both Stansted and Southend airports are in Essex, but have London added to the name.
Only six airports offer a free 10 minute drop off stay, including Cardiff, Guernsey, Inverness, London City, Newquay and Norwich.
The charges, which are based on Civil Aviation data from December 2018, apply to cars, taxis and private hire cabs, while drivers of minibuses could face different rules and charges.
Airport | 5 mins | 10 mins | 15 mins | 30 mins |
Southend | Free | £4.50 | £4.50 | £4.50 |
Manchester | £3.00 | £4.00 | N/A* | N/A* |
Edinburgh | £2.00 | £4.00 | £10.00 | £15.00 |
Stansted | £3.50 | £3.50 | £8.50 | £25.00 |
Luton | £3.00 | £3.00 | £8.00 | £23.00 |
Liverpool | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 | £10.00 |
Bournemouth | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 |
Leeds Bradford | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 |
Newcastle | £1.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 | £3.00 |
East Midlands | £2.00 | £2.00 | £7.00 | £22.00 |
Birmingham | £2.00 | £2.00 | £5.00 | £20.00 |
Glasgow | £2.00 | £2.00 | £4.00 | £10.00 |
Aberdeen | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £10.00 |
Doncaster Sheffield | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £5.00 |
Glasgow Prestwick | Free | £2.00 | £2.00 | £4.00 |
Southampton | £2.00 | £2.00 | £2.00 | £3.50 |
Belfast International | £1.00 | £1.00 | £3.00 | £5.00 |
Bristol | £1.00 | £1.00 | £3.00 | £5.00 |
Exeter | £1.00 | £1.00 | £1.00 | £1.00 |
Isle of Man | £1.00 | £1.00 | £1.00 | £1.00 |
Cardiff | Free | Free | £5.00 | £10.00 |
Inverness | Free | Free | £3.60 | £3.60 |
Norwich | Free | Free | Free | £2.30 |
Gatwick | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
Heathrow | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
Jersey | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
Guernsey | Free | Free | Free | Free |
London City | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Newquay | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Source: Staveley Head | ||||
* According to the findings by Staveley Head, Gatwick, Heathrow and Jersey airports do not permit waiting. Manchester airport does not permit waiting for longer than 10 minutes, according to Staveley Head. |
According to the findings, while most airports offer a free drop off zone, these are often not directly outside the terminal and require passengers to get a free shuttle bus to the exact location.
Many airports do offer free drop offs and pick ups directly outside a terminal for disabled passengers who hold a valid blue badge.
Access: Many airports do offer free drop offs and pick ups directly outside a terminal for disabled passengers
Taking a closer look at the costs, Stansted airport charges £3.50 for the first 10 minutes of a drop off or collection and then an additional £1 a minute after that up until 15 minutes.
A half hour stay at Standsted costs £25, with drivers who wait with their engines on could be slapped with a fine of £80, Staveley Head said.
A drop off at Edinburgh airport in Scotland could also prove costly. The airport charges £4 for 10 minutes, jumping to £10 for 15 minutes and £15 for 30 minutes.
Luton airport holidaymakers could also find themselves facing hefty charges, with a 10 minute drop off costing £3. While this is not the most expensive, a 15 minute stay rises to £8 and a 30 minute stay jumps to a hefty £23.
Setting the thorny issue of parking charges to one side, the price of all-inclusive trips this summer are up to 36 per cent cheaper than they were compared to booking the same time last year, recent research by TravelSupermarket claims.
Holidaymakers can go on an all-inclusive package holiday from as little as £196 per person for seven nights in May - and trips of this type have now become our favourite overseas' package holiday.
Spain has topped the list yet again with the most affordable destinations and Costa Brava is at the top of the list.
Most watched Money videos
- Iconic Dodge Charger goes electric as company unveils its Daytona
- 2025 Aston Martin DBX707: More luxury but comes with a higher price
- 'Now even better': Nissan Qashqai gets a facelift for 2024 version
- MailOnline asks Lexie Limitless 5 quick fire EV road trip questions
- Paul McCartney's psychedelic Wings 1972 double-decker tour bus
- Skoda reveals Skoda Epiq as part of an all-electric car portfolio
- BMW meets Swarovski and releases BMW i7 Crystal Headlights Iconic Glow
- How to invest for income and growth: SAINTS' James Dow
- Tesla unveils new Model 3 Performance - it's the fastest ever!
- Mercedes has finally unveiled its new electric G-Class
- Mini celebrates the release of brand new all-electric car Mini Aceman
- BMW's Vision Neue Klasse X unveils its sports activity vehicle future
- I'm jealous of my husband's dead ex-wife - she was rich...
- House prices to jump 2.5% as economy brightens and...
- Bailey must lead the way on interest rate cuts, says ALEX...
- BP profits hammered by lower energy prices
- BUSINESS LIVE: BP profits slump 72%; Wayve raises more...
- Attacks in the Red Sea are escalating, warns shipping...
- House prices flat in April says Halifax, but buyers seek...
- MPs set to grill FCA boss Nikhil Rathi on 'name and...
- Manual cars may be near extinction in five years as the...
- Investors are pulling money out of UK funds on a worrying...
- Billionaire Czech Sphinx bidding for Royal Mail 'would...
- Greg Clark urges officials to roll out red carpet to...
- London's Alternative Investment Market sees liquidity...
- Britain 'must lay out red carpet' to retain top tech firms
- One in six motorists baffled by confusing mess of...
- CITY WHISPERS: Are Darktrace's big shareholders prepared...
- How Britain's big water firms are drowning in sea of debt
- Baroness Bowles: Nationwide using sneaky tactics to avoid...