Gatwick Airport is set to impose a minimum £10 charge on its drop-off zones.
This change will be enforced from January 6, 2026 and will raise the current price by £3, making Gatwick the most expensive UK airport for passenger drop-offs.
The charge, applicable for a ten-minute stop, has been blamed on increasing costs including a hike in business rates in the recent Budget.
A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport said:
“This increase in the drop-off charge is not a decision we have taken lightly.
"However, we are facing a number of increasing costs, including a more than doubling of our business rates.
“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."
She added that passengers could still be dropped off for free in long-stay car parks with a free shuttle bus to the terminal, and Blue Badge holders would remain exempt from the charge.
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Gatwick's drop-off fee was first introduced in 2021 and was originally £5.
It later increased to £6 in 2024 and to £7 later that May.
Gatwick is set for an £11.9 million hike in business rates in 2026-27, according to calculations of Valuation Office Agency (VOA) data by global tax firm Ryan.
Multiple other UK airports also currently charge a £7 drop-off fee, including Stansted, Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Southampton.
Heathrow is set to raise its price from £6 to £7 from January 1.
London City, the UK’s last major airport without a drop-off fee, is due to introduce one later this month.
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