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What Is the Gatwick Drop-Off Charge?
Gatwick charges every vehicle that uses the designated drop-off zones at the North Terminal and South Terminal. The charge is no longer a flat fee. It is now tiered by how long you stay, starting at £10 for up to 10 minutes.
That is the change most drivers are unaware of, and it is the one that costs money. Under the old flat-fee model there was no reason to hurry. Under the current structure, every extra minute on the forecourt adds to the bill.
There are no payment machines on site. Cameras read your number plate automatically as you enter and leave, the system works out how long you stayed, and you pay online or by phone either before or after your visit.
How the Tiered Pricing Works
The charge is built in three parts. You pay £10 for the first 10 minutes, then £1 for each additional minute beyond that, and the total is capped at £30. There is a 30-minute maximum stay in the drop-off zone.
In practice that means a straightforward drop-off, where you pull in, unload and leave inside 10 minutes, costs £10. Take 15 minutes and it is around £15. Stay the full half hour and you reach the £30 cap. The difference between a brisk goodbye and a leisurely one is real money.
The practical advice is simple. Have bags ready before you pull in, say goodbye in the car rather than on the pavement, and do not wait with someone until they are ready to go inside. If the person you are dropping off is not ready, the forecourt is an expensive place to wait.
How to Pay the Gatwick Drop-Off Charge
Payment is handled through Gatwick's official drop-off portal at gatwickairport.com/dropoff. There are three ways to settle it.
Pay online
Go to the drop-off portal, enter your vehicle registration and pay. You can do this before your visit or afterwards, and the rate is the same either way. Payment must reach them by midnight on the day after your visit.
AutoPay
If you use Gatwick regularly, register your vehicle and payment details once and the charge is taken automatically after every visit. This suits private hire drivers, couriers and anyone doing frequent airport runs, and it removes the most common cause of penalty notices, which is simply forgetting.
By phone
You can pay over the phone on 0330 174 4503. Have your vehicle registration and payment card ready. The same midnight deadline the following day applies.
What Happens If You Do Not Pay?
If the charge is not paid by midnight on the day after your visit, you will be issued a Parking Charge Notice. The standard amount is £100 if paid within 28 days, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of the date of issue. Further fees can be added if it remains unpaid beyond that.
Enforcement at Gatwick is administered by Times24. If you believe a notice was issued unfairly, appeals go to Times24 rather than to the airport itself, and you can contact them at appeals@times24.co.uk.
Reasonable grounds for an appeal include having paid the charge without it registering, holding a valid Blue Badge exemption for that visit, or your vehicle never having entered a charging zone. You will need the PCN number from your notice, your vehicle details and any supporting evidence such as payment confirmations or screenshots.
Free Options: How to Avoid the Charge
If you are not in a rush, the long stay car parks at both terminals let you avoid the forecourt charge. You park in a bay, take a ticket, and a free shuttle bus runs to the terminal every few minutes. Your passenger can walk in with you rather than being dropped at the kerb.
There is a free period before standard parking rates begin, so check the ticket and the signage when you arrive and plan to be back at the barrier before it expires. This option suits longer goodbyes, families with luggage to sort out, and anyone collecting a passenger whose flight time is uncertain.
Residents in nearby postcodes can also apply to Gatwick's local commuter scheme, which carries an annual membership fee and allows a set number of free drop-offs per day at the South Terminal. If you live locally and use the airport often, it is worth checking the current terms through Gatwick's community programme.
Blue Badge Holders
Blue Badge holders can drop off free of charge, but only if the trip is registered in advance. You submit your badge details and vehicle registration through the drop-off portal before your visit, and the exemption applies to that specific vehicle for that single visit.
You can register using someone else's badge provided that person is actually travelling with you. If you are not sure whether you qualify for a badge in the first place, the government's guidance on Blue Badge eligibility sets out the criteria.
Register before you travel rather than afterwards. Retrospective claims are not accepted, and an unregistered trip is charged at the standard rate even if you hold a valid badge.
Can You Drop Off at the Train Station for Free?
No. Gatwick's train station sits inside the South Terminal, so reaching it means passing through the charging zone. There is no separate exemption for dropping someone at the station rather than at departures.
The workaround is the same as for any other free drop-off. Use a long stay car park and let your passenger take the free shuttle, which stops at the terminal and gives access to the station entrance.
Why Has the Charge Changed?
Moving from a flat fee to time-based pricing is aimed squarely at turnover. A single price for any length of stay gives drivers no reason to leave promptly, and the forecourts are among the most congested parts of the airport. Charging by the minute frees up kerb space far more effectively than a flat rate ever did.
The wider goal is to shift journeys towards public transport and shared travel in line with emissions targets, while the revenue offsets the cost of running and policing the drop-off areas. Heathrow, Stansted, Luton, Birmingham and Manchester all operate charges of their own, and our guide to the Heathrow drop-off charge covers how that one works.
Conclusion
Gatwick's drop-off charge starts at £10 for up to 10 minutes, adds £1 for every minute after that, and is capped at £30 with a 30-minute maximum stay. It applies at both terminals, and payment is due by midnight on the day after your visit or you face a £100 penalty, reduced to £60 within 14 days.
The two things worth remembering are speed and the right portal. Get in and out inside 10 minutes and you pay the minimum, and pay through Gatwick's official drop-off page rather than any third-party site. If you use the airport often, set up AutoPay and stop thinking about it. If you hold a Blue Badge, register the trip in advance and you pay nothing at all.
