Gatwick blames mega hike in drop-off fee on business rates spike

Gatwick is set to increase its drop-off fee from £7 to £10, setting the blame squarely on a coming hike in business rates.

The new price, which will see Gatwick become the UK’s most expensive airport to drop off passengers, will be implemented from January 6.

A spokesperson for the airport said the fee increase has “not been 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,” the spokesperson added.

Business rates, a charge on brick-and-mortar business venues, are set to rise with inflation in the coming April.

Heathrow rates bill to hit £151m

Gatwick is set for an £11.9m hike to £51.6m in 2026-27, according to calculations of Valuation Office Agency (VOA) data by global tax firm Ryan.

Heathrow airport will see an even bigger increase, with its bill rising £35m to £151.5 million for 2026-27.

Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at the RAC, which tracks airport drop-off fees, told PA it was “the largest increase in the cost to drop-off we’ve ever seen” and 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,” Dennis said.

All major airports in the UK operate with a drop-off fee, including a £7 fee at Stanstead, Bristol and Southamptom.

Heathrow will raise its drop-off fee from £6 to £7 on January 1.