The UK's most expensive airport for drivers costs two and a half times more than its cheapest, highlighting the need to think ahead before jetting off.
In the past few years motoring to the airport has become an increasingly expensive pursuit.
Two-thirds of UK travel hubs have put up their car parking prices since the pandemic began, with drop-off charges in particular creeping up.
London Stansted continues to top the drop-off charges table with a whopping initial fee of £7 for 15 minutes - while in summer 2019 it was £4 for 10 minutes.
The costs to drive to, be dropped-off at or rent a car from an airport have reached such a level that it's definitely worth studying how much doing so will cost you before booking a flight.
In order to determine the most expensive and cheapest airports for drivers around the world, Leasefetcher collated pricing information about drop-off, car rental, and parking fees, while also exploring EV rental costs and EV charger availability.
Its study found that 20 of the 25 UK airports charge people for dropping your friends or family off to catch their flight.
Seven airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton included - charge £5 for drop-off, with another seven - including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen - charging £4.
There are five smaller airports- including three islands off the mainland - that offer drop-off for free.
When it comes to a leaving your car for a week, London Heathrow charges the highest rates among UK airports, at £142 a week.
Shetland's Sumburgh Airport charges the lowest parking fees with a wallet-friendly price of £21 for a week.
Comparing Skyscanner prices shows that the lowest weekly car rental costs for all 25 airports can be found at London Gatwick, where renting a motor can set you back as little as £129 for seven days.
If you're looking to rent a car in the UK it may be wise to avoid the Channel Islands.
Guernsey and Jersey are the most expensive UK airports to rent a car from with weekly costs starting at £350 and £342 respectively.
Taking all three factors into consideration, the most expensive British airport for drivers is Jersey Airport, with a total cost of £476.40 for drop-off, parking, and car rental.
Despite offering the rare luxury of free drop-off, Jersey had the 2nd most expensive fees for both weekly parking costs and weekly car hire costs.
In a similar vein, Guernsey is the 2nd most expensive UK airport for drivers with a total cost of £434, followed by Doncaster Sheffield with £381.
Looking at the other end of the scale, Edinburgh Airport ranked as the most affordable airport for UK drivers based on the three factors, with extremely modest weekly parking and car hire prices.
The second most affordable UK airport for drivers belongs to London Luton with a total cost of 196.99, followed by London Gatwick in 3rd with £204.
