Gatwick Airport is set to implement a significant increase to its passenger drop-off fee, raising it to £10 from 6 January, a move that will make it the most expensive in the UK.
The new charge represents a 43 per cent hike from the current £7 fee, placing Gatwick £3 higher than any other airport nationwide.
The West Sussex airport has attributed the rise to increased operational costs, specifically blaming a hike in business rates by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
A spokeswoman for Gatwick stated: "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."
For those wishing to avoid the fee, passengers can still be dropped off free of charge in the long-stay car parks, with a complimentary shuttle bus service available to the terminals.
Blue badge holders will however remain exempt from the drop-off fee.
The charge is likely to be added to taxi and minicab fares.
Gatwick’s drop-off fee was £5 when it was first introduced in March 2021.
Airports are among those facing the highest jump in business rate bills across England and Wales because of changes coming into effect next April.
Gatwick is set for an £11.9 million hike to £51.6 million in 2026-27, according to calculations of Valuation Office Agency (VOA) data by global tax firm Ryan.
This comes despite a 30 per cent cap in the property tax increase under transitional relief.
Heathrow airport is heading for an even bigger increase – up £35 million to £151.5 million for 2026-27 – which is also capped at 30 per cent for the first year.
Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at the RAC, which tracks airport drop-off fees, said: “A more than 40 per cent increase in the cost to drop-off is the largest we’ve ever seen and represents a doubling of the fee first introduced in 2021.
“It means the airport will have the unenviable record of being the most expensive for anyone dropping off by car by a whole £3.
“Drivers tell us the main reason they use drop-off facilities at airports is to help people with bulky or heavy luggage – something that can be incredibly impractical on public transport, especially if elderly relatives or young children are in tow.
“Sadly, it looks like drivers are going to have to get used to coughing up increasingly exorbitant sums for doing so.”
He added that drop-off fees are “almost unheard of” at major airports elsewhere in Europe.
Other UK airports that also currently charge a £7 drop-off fee include Stansted, Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Southampton.
Heathrow will raise its price from £6 to £7 from January 1.
London City, the UK’s last major airport without a drop-off fee, is to introduce one later this month.
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