Airport Drop-Off Charges Are OUT OF CONTROL

Dropping off friends or family at the airport? Well now it’s upto £7.00 Just to Say Goodbye!

Remember when going to the airport was fun? You didn’t even need to be travelling – just dropping someone off or picking up a loved one felt like part of the adventure. You’d pull up to the terminal, wave them off or catch them coming through arrivals with open arms and a smile. Well, welcome to Rip-Off Britain 2025, where even saying goodbye comes at a cost. Literally.

Today, if you so much as pause your car at the kerb outside a UK airport, expect to be hit with a bill – anything from £5 to £7 or more. And no, this isn’t for an hour of parking. This is for five to fifteen minutes of just sitting in your car, engine running, while someone jumps out with a suitcase.

The Great British Drop-Off Tax

Here’s a quick rundown of what it costs to not park (but just pause) at some of our most-used airports:

• Stansted – £7 for 15 mins
• Gatwick – recently increased to £7 for 10 mins
• Heathrow – £6 minimum, plus ULEZ if your car isn’t compliant
• Leeds Bradford – £6.50 for 10 mins
• Manchester – £5 for 5 mins
• Liverpool – £5 for 10 mins
• Glasgow – £6 for 15 mins
• Bristol & Edinburgh – £6 for 10 mins

So if you’re helping out a mate, dropping off your mum, or – like me – ferrying your son to the airport (who often travels for work with heavy gear), you’re paying just for the honour of merely stopping for a moment near a terminal.

You don’t use the loo. You don’t touch a trolley. You don’t even switch off the engine.
Still: Pay. Up. Now.

But Haven’t We Already Paid?

Here’s the thing – every passenger already pays an airport tax – it’s called Air Passenger Duty (APD). Depending on where and how you’re flying, that could be:

• £13 for short-haul economy
• £94 for long-haul economy
• £224 if you’re flying business class to somewhere exotic

And yet, your friends or family still have to pay again just to drop you off? It’s like a restaurant charging you an entrance fee before the overpriced meal. And no, they haven’t stopped at private cars. Taxis, Ubers, chauffeurs? They pay too. They just add it to your bill.

What About Other Countries?

Let’s talk about Dubai International Airport. One of the busiest airports in the world. Know how much they charge for dropping someone off? Nothing. Zero. Nada. Not a fils.

Because they get it. They understand that:

• Some people have luggage
• Some are travelling with kids
• Some have elderly relatives
• And some just need to drive because it’s logical

They don’t punish you for using the airport.

What Excuse Do UK Airports Use?

The official line is something along the lines of: “We’re reducing congestion and encouraging use of public transport.” Right. Because dragging a toddler, a suitcase, and an inflatable flamingo onto the Piccadilly Line is totally normal, isn’t it? And if this really was about cutting pollution, why aren’t electric vehicles exempt? Why not reward the cleaner cars instead of punishing everyone?

This isn’t environmental. It’s fiscal predation.

Do We Need a Superhero Now?

Frankly, it feels like we do. Maybe “Rip-Off Britain Woman” should fly in, rip the signs down and save the day. Because it’s starting to feel like a dystopian parody of reality out here.

And I probably shouldn’t say this – but what’s next? A breathing charge? “Sorry, mate – that’s £2 for every lungful of terminal air you just inhaled.”

Don’t laugh. We’re probably only a consultation away from that becoming policy.

What Do You Think?

• Are airport drop-off charges justifiable in 2025?
• Should there be any charge at all for a quick goodbye?
• Or is this just another slice of Rip-Off Britain madness we’ve been conditioned to accept?

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