UK airports charging £7 for the privilege of dropping passengers off near terminal

GREEDY airports have been slammed for charging as much as £7 just to drop off or pick up passengers.

Nearly three-quarters of airports now charge - and drivers who over-stay risk charges as high as a short-haul flight.

4

London Luton Airport is the most expensive in the UK with a minimum charge of £7 for up to 40 minutes, a study by RAC found.

Drivers are welcome to dodge the airport's fee by staying put in their car at a different designated car park.

This method still proves to be the most expensive in the country per minute, with a charge of £3 for a mere ten minutes, and £1 a minute after that.

Luton is followed by Birmingham when it comes to pricey pick-ups.

The West Midlands airport charges £4.70 to park up for up to an hour without a cheaper alternative for a shorter period of time.

Parking close to Stansted Airport’s terminal costs £4.50 for 30 minutes, while Edinburgh Airport charges £3.90 for just 15 minutes, equivalent to £0.26 per minute, more than the price of a mobile phone call from Europe back to the UK.

London Heathrow charges £3.60 for 30 minutes’ parking.

4

RELATED STORIES

DELTA FARCE DAY TWO

Delta cancels ANOTHER 700 flights worldwide as it scrambles to recover from computer crash

WORLDWIDE FLIGHT CHAOS

Tens of thousands of Delta passengers stranded around the world after computer failure

AIRPORT PUB HOURS UNDER THREAT

Around-the-clock drinking at airports could be banned in an attempt to stamp out drunken air rage

PUB-LIC OUTCRY

Companies offering 'secure' meet and greet parking at airports are leaving your motors in PUB CAR PARKS

Southerners continue to feel the pinch as both Luton and Stansted insist on a minimum of £3 for a stay of just ten minutes, while Edinburgh charges £1 for five minutes.

Drivers who overrun the minimum stay face the peril of further expense.

At London Stansted, drivers receive a staggering £50 penalty if they stay any longer than ten minutes, while both London Luton and East Midlands charge £1 a minute after waiting ten minutes.

While some airports offer lower cost options for drop-off and pick-up parking, these generally mean pre-booking or leaving a car a lot further from the terminal building.

Edinburgh Airport for example offers a free drop off and pick-up zone for ten minutes but then requires the driver to take a shuttle bus to the terminal.

Six of the UK’s 20 busiest airports still do offer some free parking provision.

4

4

RAC’s Pete Williams said: “While it is true that many airports provide a range of different parking options for drivers depending on how long they expect to stay, motorists need to be aware of the sky-high charges levied by some for parking close to the terminal.

“Drivers are running the risk of incurring some hefty charges if they drive to a pick-up zone to collect somebody whose flight is delayed, or who has to wait a long time at baggage reclaim.

In these cases, they are much better finding another, more affordable airport car park.

Unfortunately, from our research there will be a trade-off in that other car parks tend to be considerably less convenient and a lot further from the arrivals hall.

“The message to anyone picking up or dropping off at an airport this summer is simple – check the fees carefully before you set out.