Travel experts have called out a top UK airport after plans to dramatically increase parking costs were revealed. Gatwick Airport has confirmed that drop-off charges, which currently allow motorists to stop outside for 10 minutes, will rise from £7 to £10 from January 6, 2026, just months after the last increase.
A £5 drop-off fee was introduced at Gatwick in March 2021, which was increased to £6 from 2024 and £7 in May 2025. Gatwick Airport has blamed an increase in business rates and higher costs as the reason for introducing the fee. However, Clive Wratten, CEO at the Business Travel Association (BTA) stressed it was simply an “excuse”.
Clive explained: “Of course, business rates are a challenge, but a £10 drop-off fee looks less like a necessity and more like a choice. This feels like a convenient excuse to increase fees that are already out of step with the passenger experience and the reality of regional connectivity. It shifts the burden onto passengers and taxi drivers rather than addressing the root problem."
Gatwick isn’t the only airport recording an increase in parking fees, with drop-off rates at Heathrow Airport also set to go up. The drop-off prices will rise at the UK’s largest airport from January, and prices will increase from £6 to £7.
Clive has estimated the Gatwick Airport parking rise could generate more than £1million in additional revenue.
He added: “To put the scale into context, we estimate BTA members had around 1.5 million passengers travelling for work depart Gatwick in the past 12 months. Even using a conservative estimate that just 30% arrived by car, that means UK businesses paid roughly £3.15 million in drop-off fees over that period. With the increase to £10, that rises to £4.5 million, for the same journey and the same experience.
“And the reality is that public transport is simply not a practical option for many. Gatwick regularly schedules more than 100 departures before 9am, with check-in requirements starting as early as 4am. For the vast majority of those passengers, there is no reliable bus or train option that gets them to the terminal at that time.”
A statement from Gatwick Airport read: "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."
