Hacks you need to know to avoid airport drop-off fees

No-one wants to pay to not even park at the airport, so we looked into how you could avoid the fees - and warn you about the handful of airports where you probably can't.

There are three main ways people get stung for dropping off and picking up at the airport:

• Not planning ahead: It's possible to drop off for free at (almost) every airport if you're able to walk to the terminals or work the system, but if you just drive up on the day and pay the gate rate you'll pay whatever the airport wants you to pay.
• Picking up: Dropping off is usually straightforward and there are dedicated zones for it. Picking up is more complicated - you have to wait for your passengers to clear arrivals while you're clocking up by-the-minute fees in short-stay parking.
• Fines: Many airports are rigorous in pursuing people who drop-off without handing over the fee. East Midlands is especially infamous for roaming camera vans and fining people who get dropped off while their driver is buying petrol at the garage in the airport grounds.

---

Birmingham

Premium Set Down costs £5 and is 1 minute from the terminal. Drop-off is free, with a five to ten-minute walk through a covered walkway. Or take the transfer bus. Pick-up is more expensive, with returning passengers encouraged to use one of Car Park 1, 2 or 3 where prices start at £8.50 for an hour.

As a better alternative, at both ends of the journey, drive to Birmingham International station and use the free drop-off and pick-up point in the Short Stay car park there. Then catch the free Air Rail link to the airport, which takes 2 minutes and runs between 3.30am and half past midnight every day.

---

Bristol

Bristol Airport offers a free waiting zone where you can park for up to an hour while you wait to collect passengers. But if you want to collect them closer to the terminal you'll need to drive into the Short Stay car park and pay £6. You can skip that charge by taking the free bus from the waiting zone into the terminal (or vice-versa on the way home).

---

Cardiff

Cardiff has a drop-off zone outside the terminal which is free for 5 minutes. Just don't dawdle and you're fine - any longer than that and it's £3 per 5 minutes. If you need longer, or assistance, you can park at Long Stay for free for 20 minutes, and that's a short walk away too. Passengers with mobility needs can request assistance at the long stay drop-off.

---

Edinburgh

The paid drop-off is on the ground floor of the multistory. It's £5 for up to 10 minutes and then £1 per minute after that. Blue Badge holders get an hour for free.

If you have an electric car you'll get 50% off that charge – that's 10 minutes for £2.50 if you announce yourself at the intercom. Local residents also get to drop off for £2.50 but have to apply in advance for the discount.

Edinburgh does offer free drop-off at its Long Stay car park, but there are no shuttles between the car park and the terminal. So anyone using it is looking at a 10 to 12-minute walk.

---

East Midlands

East Midlands offers a free drop-off at Long Stay, which is a 15 to 20-minute walk to the terminals. There is a bus but it only runs from 1st April to 31st October. Rapid Drop-off is right next to the terminals and it's £5 for 15 minutes. Short Stay lets you stay for 30 minutes but costs £6.

It is difficult or impossible to drop off or pick up anywhere else at East Midlands. Rules are rigorously enforced with video patrols and the fines are expensive. Some travellers recommend dropping off outside the airport grounds at a (fairly) nearby pub, office or even a flight school - but you're then looking at a walk of at least 15 minutes on busy roads with your luggage.

---

Gatwick

Gatwick charges a minimum of £6 to use its designated drop-off by the two terminals.

Alternatively, for the South Terminal, you can drop off for free at the Long Stay car park. From there you can get the free bus to the terminal. You can walk from Long Stay to the terminal but the roads aren't ideal for pedestrians with luggage.

It's not really feasible to walk from the North Terminal Long Stay, so you're better off getting the bus. Or get dropped off at the South and take the free monorail to the North instead.

---

Glasgow

Glasgow offers a drop-off next to the terminal for £5.50 or a free option at the Long Stay car park, from which you can catch the shuttle bus or walk 15 minutes into the terminal.

Or stop at the BP garage off the M8 roundabout, just outside the airport grounds, and take a 5-minute walk (straight past the paid drop-off zone) from there. Just don't get in anyone's way at the garage with all your luggage.

---

Heathrow

Heathrow charges £5 for drop-off at all of its terminals, or offers a free option at the Park and Ride (previously Long Stay) car parks. You'll need to take a transfer bus from all of them.

For a free alternative, drop-off at Hatton Cross tube station and then catch the tube for free to any of the terminals - Hatton Cross is part of the Heathrow free travel zone so you can go from there to any of the terminals. You'll need to tap your card, but it won't be charged. You'll have 5 minutes to get in and out of the Hatton Cross car park before you're charged. And don't forget ULEZ – you'll want to pay beforehand if your car isn't compliant.

There's no official drop-off at Pod Parking for T5 but it's possible to drop off there and then take the free pod. It's quicker than the shuttle from the official drop-off at Long Stay.

---

Leeds Bradford

Leeds-Bradford has a free parking zone 3 to 4 minutes' walk to the terminal, so if you want to drop off for free and can manage a 4-minute walk just use that. Or you can pay £7 for a drop-off car park slightly closer to the terminal. Even Blue Badge holders are expected to pay the full fee to avoid the walk!

---

Liverpool

Express drop-off is £5 for 10 minutes and more expensive the longer you take. Drop-Off 2 is free for 20 minutes but a 7-minute walk from the terminal - there is no shuttle bus. Blue Badge holders are entitled to 40 minutes in the express drop-off for free.

Rather than pay to wait for passengers to clear arrivals, there's a 24-hour McDonalds 5 minutes from the airport at the New Mersey Retail Park, or free parking for the shops on Western Avenue also 5 minutes away.

---

Luton

You can either drop off right by the terminal for £5, or drop-off for free at the Mid-stay and Long-stay car parks and take the shuttle. Or it's a 10-minute walk.

You can also drop off at Luton International train station for free, but then the DART into the terminals costs £4.90 – saving yourself a princely 10p on the drop-off price.

---

Manchester

Manchester offers drop-off by the terminals for £5, but that turns into a whopping £25 overstay fee if you hang around for more than ten minutes.

Alternatively, the airport offers a free drop-off area with shuttle buses taking between 5 and 7 minutes to the terminals. Blue Badge holders are also allowed to drop off on the terminal forecourt for free.

If neither of those suit, you can drop off (and collect) passengers near Shadow Moss tram stop, one stop from the airport and just north of the airport grounds. It's legal to stop or park along several nearby roads - and travellers can then get a tram into the airport in 4 minutes, every 12 minutes, for £1. While waiting for pick-up you might want to stop at the Airport Pub a couple of minutes away and get your passengers to call you once they clear arrivals.

---

Newcastle

You can pay £4 for Express Drop-Off or use Short Stay 2 which is free for 15 minutes and a short walk from the terminal. If you don't have big luggage you can get dropped off at the bus stop on Ponteland Road and take the footpath from there. If you have big luggage, the gate at the Hilton hotel makes it difficult or impossible to use this footpath.

---

Stansted

Stansted offers Express Set Down for £7, 30 minutes in Short Stay for £10, or a free drop-off at the Mid Stay car park. The only safe or legal way we can find to avoid fees at Stansted is to use the Mid Stay drop-off and then catch the bus into the terminal, which takes 7 minutes.

Birchanger Green is a motorway service station close to the airport, and if you're waiting for passengers to disembark you can get a cup of tea there and get them to call you when they're out.

---

Alternatively, plan ahead and either book your airport parking in advance or stay overnight in an airport hotel and stroll into the airport fresh and ready for your holiday the next morning.

Most Holiday Extras customers saved £125 last year on their airport parking vs the gate rate by booking ahead with us. So before you start working out how to jump over a fence while carrying two suitcases - why not see if you'd be better parking or sleeping at the airport before your flight?