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.

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.

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.

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.