New research has compiled 20 of UK's largest airports and compared how much they all charge for people to drop off their friends and family going on holiday - with one charging an eye-watering £1 per minute. Seven of the top 20 airports across the country increased their costs since last summer. Analysis from RAC discovered that London Stansted was charging customers the highest upfront cost at £7 for 15 minutes, while Belfast City and Belfast International offered the lowest upfront costs at £3 for 10 minutes respectively.
While not the most eye-watering charge on the list, Liverpool was ranked 11th for charging £5 for 10 minutes, equating to 50p a minute while not seeing any increases since 2023. Manchester Airport topped the league with one tariff costing £1 per minute. This placed it just ahead of Birmingham which charged £5 for 15 mins, or 33p a minute, which factored in an increase of £1 since 2023.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: "It's depressing, if perhaps unsurprising given what's happened in the past, to see seven airports have hiked their drop-off charges once again this year. To have to pay £5, £6 or even £7 for the briefest of stops to simply open the boot and take some luggage out for a friend or loved one is bordering on the ridiculous." He also highlighted the issue of accessibility: "Increased charges at airports that have relatively poor public transport access for instance, no direct rail or tram link also seems pretty unreasonable.
So.