Eight major UK airports hike 'kiss and fly' drop-off prices

Eight major airports have upped the cost of dropping off passengers over the last year, an investigation by the UK’s biggest consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) can reveal. East Midlands Airport has more than tripled the cost of a 10-minute drop-off, while Edinburgh Airport has doubled the cost of some stays (1).

Last year MSE revealed that 19 of the UK’s 30 busiest airports will make you pay for a 10-minute drop-off at the terminal, and this year that remains that case, but prices have climbed rapidly.

MSE’s research also found that it's usually possible to beat the fees and drop off for free if you know where to go. Most airports have an alternative free drop-off area – usually a little way away and possibly involving the need to take a shuttle or walk for up to 15 minutes.

Steve Nowottny, news and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "The cost of dropping a loved one off at an airport terminal has soared in the last year, with over a third of airports which charge for 10-minute drop-offs upping at least some of their costs.

"Many passengers will rightly be stunned to be charged as much as £7 for a 10-minute drop-off - frankly it's hard to know how airports can justify such eye-watering fees.

"But the good news is that in most cases there's no need to pay anything when saying goodbye to family and friends, as almost all airports have a free area for drop-offs - as long as you're willing to take a short walk or shuttle ride to the terminal."

Airports which had changed their prices usually told MSE they had done so to reduce traffic outside the airport and improve safety and efficiency, or to give passengers more options for longer drop-offs.

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Notes to editors

For more information on how to drop off for free, and some airport responses, please contact the press office.

(1)    Here are the airports MSE found have raised prices since data was last collected in July 2018:

• Doncaster Sheffield Airport has raised the price of drop-offs of up to 15 minutes from £2 to £3, a 50% increase.

• East Midlands Airport has reduced the window for a £2 drop-off from 10 minutes to five minutes. As it charges £1 for every minute you stay beyond this, the cost of a 10-minute drop-off has more than tripled from £2 to £7, while a 30-minute stay now costs £27 not £22.

• Edinburgh Airport has doubled the cost of some drop-offs: a 5-minute wait now costs £2 and a 30-minute drop-off costs £15 - compared to £1 and £7 respectively last year. For a 10-minute drop-off, you'll now pay £4, up from £3 last year.

• Glasgow Airport has raised the price of a 30-minute drop-off from £10 to £15, a 50% increase. The prices of drop-offs of up to 15 minutes have stayed the same. 

• Newcastle Airport has doubled the price of a 10-minute drop-off from £1 to £2. It's also increased the cost of a 30-minute drop-off from £3 to £4.

• Southend Airport now charges £5 for drop-offs between five and 30 minutes, up from £4.50 last year - though after we contacted it for comment it told us it will be reducing some charges "in the next few weeks".  

• Southampton Airport has upped the cost of a 30-minute drop-off from £3.50 to £4. The price of drop-offs of up to 15 minutes has stayed the same at £2.

• Stansted Airport has upped the cost of drop-offs of up to 10 minutes - they now cost £4 not £3.50. 

Two more airports have raised some prices but also lowered others:

• Birmingham Airport has upped the cost of a 10-minute drop-off from £2 to £3, a 50% rise. However, the cost of a longer wait has gone down - it's now £3 not £5 for a 15-minute drop-off and £18 not £20 for 30 minutes. 

• Glasgow Prestwick Airport has removed its five-minute free grace period and now charges a flat rate of £2 for up to 30 minutes. This means a 10-minute drop-off has gone up by a third from £1.50, but a 30-minute drop-off, which used to be £3.50, is 43% cheaper.