Every London airport now charges a car to stop outside the terminal: £7 at Heathrow, £8 at Southend, £9 at Luton and £10 at Gatwick and Stansted for a short stop when we checked in November 2026. There are no barriers and nowhere to pay on the spot, so the driver pays afterwards, online or by phone, before midnight on the day after, or a parking charge of £80 to £100 arrives in the post.
The charges catch out visitors more than Londoners, because a friend or a hire-car driver assumes that stopping for a minute is free, as it is at many airports abroad. Most London airports offer a free alternative: a car park further out with a shuttle bus to the terminal. This page lists each airport's charge, the deadline and the free option. For the airports themselves, start with our comparison of London's airports.
Picking someone up is a separate set of rules. At Heathrow and Gatwick a car may not wait at the terminal at all, and the drop-off lanes are for dropping off only; at Luton, Stansted and Southend the paid zone serves both. The section on collecting a passenger, further down, explains where a driver should go instead.
| Airport | Charge outside the terminal | Maximum stay | Unpaid charge | Free alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | £7 per entry | Drop-off only, no waiting | £80, or £40 within 14 days | Park & Ride car parks, free bus |
| Gatwick | £10 for 10 minutes, then £1 a minute | 30 minutes | £100, or £60 within 14 days | Long Stay car parks, free for two hours, free bus |
| Stansted | £10 up to 15 minutes, £28 over 15 minutes | 30 minutes | £100, or £60 within 14 days | Mid Stay car park, first hour free, free bus |
| Luton | £9 for 12 minutes, then £1 a minute | 30 minutes | £95 for overstaying, or £55 within 14 days | Long Stay car park, free for two hours, free bus |
| Southend | £8 per visit | 10 minutes | See the airport's terms | None: the cheapest car park starts at £12 |
| London City | Charged; see below | Ten minutes | See below | Not confirmed |
All figures were read on each airport's own website in November 2026 and are listed under Sources. They change, usually upwards and usually in the new year, so check the airport's page in the week you travel.
How a charge with no barrier works
The drop-off zones at all these airports work the same way. A camera reads the number plate as the car drives in and out, the system works out how long it stayed, and the charge is attached to that plate. Nobody stops you, nothing flashes, and there is no machine to feed. That is why so many drivers leave without realising they owe anything.
The driver then pays on the airport's payment website or its automated phone line, by card only, before midnight on the day after the visit. Most airports also offer an account with autopay, which takes the charge automatically each time the registered car enters; for a single visit, paying online the same evening is simpler. If nobody pays, the operator asks the DVLA for the registered keeper's address and sends a parking charge notice there.
These notices come from the private companies that run the zones for the airports, such as APCOA at Heathrow, Stansted and Luton, and Times24 at Gatwick. They are charges under the airport's terms, not council fines, and each notice explains how to appeal to the company that issued it.
A hire car's drop-off charge goes to the hire company first. The rental firm is the registered keeper, so an unpaid notice lands with it, and rental agreements commonly allow the firm to pass the charge on to the hirer with an administration fee on top. Pay the drop-off charge online yourself the same day, using the hire car's number plate. Our page on hiring a car in London covers the other charges a rental picks up.
Heathrow: £7 every time the car enters
Heathrow's Terminal Drop-Off Charge is £7 per visit to the drop-off area at Terminals 2, 3, 4 or 5. It is per entry, not per day: drive in, drop one person, go round and come back with a forgotten bag, and that is £14. Pay online, by phone or by autopay; you can also prepay for several visits, which stay valid for 12 months. Unpaid charges become an £80 parking charge, reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days.
No pick-ups and no waiting are allowed in the drop-off areas, and unattended vehicles may be towed. Blue Badge holders can apply for a discount in advance. Our Terminal 5 guide has the approach roads for the busiest terminal.
The free alternative is any of Heathrow's Park & Ride car parks (the old Long Stay), with a free bus from there to the terminal. Heathrow says taxis and private-hire cars can drop off there too, which avoids the charge for them.
Gatwick: £10, and £1 a minute after that
Gatwick charges £10 for up to ten minutes in the drop-off zones at the North and South Terminals, then £1 for each extra minute up to twenty minutes. The maximum stay is 30 minutes and the maximum daily charge is £30. Payment is due by midnight the day after; a late or missing payment brings a parking charge of £100, reduced to £60 within 14 days. Blue Badge holders are exempt once their vehicle is registered.
The free option is the Long Stay car parks, where Gatwick allows two hours free with a shuttle bus to the terminals. For a passenger catching an early flight, that adds the bus ride to the journey, so leave the extra time. Our Gatwick guide explains the two terminals, which matter here because each has its own zone.
Stansted: two prices, and a steep jump at fifteen minutes
Stansted has three ways to drop off. The Express Set Down area outside the terminal costs £10 for up to 15 minutes and £28 for anything over 15 minutes, with a 30-minute maximum. Every vehicle pays, including Blue Badge holders, although marshals on site can advise anyone who needs longer. Unpaid visits bring a £100 parking charge, reduced to £60 within 14 days.
The Short Stay car parks cost £13 for up to 30 minutes and £21 for up to an hour, and are the place to park if you want to walk someone in. The free option is the Mid Stay car park: the first 60 minutes are free, the second hour costs £5, and a free shuttle runs to the terminal. Stansted warns of a £48 charge for re-entering the Mid Stay within an hour, so do not use it as a loop. More on the airport is in our Stansted guide.
Luton: £9 for twelve minutes
Luton's Drop Off and Pick Up Zone, a five-minute walk from the terminal, costs £9 for 12 minutes and £1 for each minute after that, to a maximum stay of 30 minutes. Payment is due by midnight the following day. Drivers who stay past 30 minutes face a £95 enforcement charge, reduced to £55 within 14 days. Luton offers no Blue Badge concession in this zone, but Blue Badge holders and passengers with booked assistance get 30 minutes free in Terminal Car Park 1.
The free option is the Long Stay car park: two hours free and a ten-minute shuttle from Bus Bay B every 20 minutes, around the clock. Luton's own page asks drivers to ignore their satellite navigation on the approach and follow the road signs instead. Our Luton airport guide covers the terminal and the DART shuttle to the railway.
London City and Southend: the short ten-minute limits
Southend's Express Pick-up and Drop-off, directly opposite the terminal, costs £8 per visit for up to ten minutes, paid online after you leave and by midnight the following day. There is no free car park: the cheapest alternative, the Budget car park, charged £12 for up to 30 minutes when we checked. Our page on Southend Airport covers the rest.
London City introduced a terminal drop-off charge in January 2026, with a ten-minute maximum stay. Its website refused our requests in November 2026, so we cannot confirm the current fee for a private car or whether a free option exists. Our London City page has the stay limit and the enforcement charge as we last read them; check the airport's own drop-off page before you drive.
Collecting someone: where the driver can wait
The common mistake on arrival day is a driver circling the terminal, or waiting in a drop-off lane, while the passenger is still at the baggage belt. Both cost money, and at Heathrow the forecourts forbid it altogether.
- Heathrow: use a Terminal Parking car park (£8.50 for up to 29 minutes) or a Park & Ride car park (first 29 minutes free). Terminal 4 also has a paid Priority Pick-Up area from £7 for ten minutes. Our page on arriving at Heathrow has the full tariff.
- Gatwick: pick-ups belong in the Short Stay car parks, and Gatwick tells taxi and private-hire drivers to meet passengers there too.
- Stansted: the Mid Stay car park's free hour suits a pick-up best; the Express Set Down zone also works for a quick collection at the same £10.
- Luton: the same zone and the same £9 serve pick-ups, or wait free for up to two hours in the Long Stay.
The one habit that saves money everywhere: the driver waits in a car park until the passenger messages from the arrivals hall with the bags, and only then drives round.
Taxis, minicabs and ride-hailing
Heathrow says all black cabs and private-hire vehicles must pay its £7 charge whenever they enter a terminal drop-off zone. Black-cab drivers may add a drop-off extra to the meter, but TfL no longer publishes the list it came from, so we cannot say how much of the airport's charge it covers. Minicab and app fares usually build the charge into the quoted price; check the quote rather than assume. Our guide to black cabs, minicabs and Uber explains how the tariffs and extras work.
If you are being picked up by a ride-hailing car, the meeting point is not the kerb. At Heathrow, riders meet the driver on foot in the terminal's Terminal Parking car park.
When the free car park is worth the shuttle
For one passenger with a cabin bag, £7 to £10 buys several minutes and a short walk, and most people will pay it. The free car parks make sense for a family with time in hand, a driver doing the airport run twice in a day, or anyone who would otherwise circle the terminal waiting for a delayed flight.
They make less sense on a tight morning. A shuttle every 15 or 20 minutes can add half an hour to the journey, and that half-hour is exactly what missing a flight is usually made of. Planning the day you fly home shows how to count backwards from the bag-drop deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to drop someone off at Heathrow?
No. Heathrow charges £7 each time a vehicle enters a terminal drop-off area, and the driver must pay it online or by phone before midnight on the day after. Dropping off at a Park & Ride car park, where a free bus runs to the terminal, costs nothing.
What happens if I forget to pay the airport drop-off charge?
The registered keeper of the car receives a parking charge notice: £80 at Heathrow, reduced to £40 within 14 days, and £100 at Gatwick and Stansted, reduced to £60. Pay the original charge by midnight the day after your visit to avoid it.
Can I pay the drop-off charge at the airport?
No. None of these airports has a barrier or a payment machine in the drop-off zone. You pay online, by an automated phone line or through an autopay account, by card only, before the deadline the airport sets.
Where can I pick someone up for free at Gatwick?
Gatwick's Long Stay car parks are free for two hours, with a shuttle bus to the terminals. For a quicker collection, the Short Stay car parks next to the terminals are paid but much closer.
Do taxis pay the airport drop-off charge?
At Heathrow, yes: black cabs and private-hire cars pay the same £7 each time they enter a drop-off zone. How that is passed on to you depends on the fare. Asking to be dropped at a Park & Ride car park avoids it.
Sources
- Heathrow - Terminal Drop-Off Charge (checked November 2026)
- Heathrow - Passenger pick-up (checked November 2026)
- London Gatwick - Drop-off charges (checked November 2026)
- London Gatwick - Drop-off FAQs (checked November 2026)
- London Stansted - Pick up and drop off (checked November 2026)
- London Luton Airport - Dropping off (checked November 2026)
- London Luton Airport - Picking up (checked November 2026)
- London Southend Airport - Pick-up and drop-off (checked November 2026)