Dropping off at Gatwick costs £10 for up to 10 minutes at either terminal. From minute 11 the meter adds £1 per minute, capped at £30 when you hit the 30-minute maximum stay. Cameras read your plate — there are no barriers and no machines. Pay at postpay.dropoff.gatwickairport.com once you have driven out, before midnight the following day, or a £100 PCN follows. Long Stay at both terminals is free for 2 hours.
What It Costs — £10 for Ten Minutes, Then a Meter to £30
The Gatwick drop off cost is flat for the first ten minutes and metered after that. The drop off charge at Gatwick has no free period at any point — the camera logs your plate the moment you cross into the Gatwick drop off zone, so a stop of ninety seconds costs exactly the same as one of nine minutes. Both North and South Terminal forecourts charge identically, so the Gatwick drop off price does not depend on which one you use.
| Time in the zone | You pay | How it builds |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 minutes | £10 | Flat base rate — the standard Gatwick drop off 10 minutes window |
| 11 minutes | £11 | £10 + 1 minute |
| 15 minutes | £15 | £10 + 5 minutes |
| 20 minutes | £20 | £10 + 10 minutes |
| 25 minutes | £25 | £10 + 15 minutes |
| 30 minutes | £30 | £10 + 20 minutes — the cap |
| 31 minutes or more | £100 | PCN · £60 within 14 days |
Why It Went Up 43% in One Move
Gatwick attributed the January increase to what it described as a more than doubling of its business rates following the Autumn Budget 2025. The RAC called it the largest single drop off increase seen at any UK airport. Whatever the justification, the trajectory is the relevant fact for anyone budgeting a regular airport run. Gatwick drop off charges have doubled in five years.
| Date | Charge | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 | £5 | — | Barrierless ANPR system launched |
| 2024 | £6 | +20% | First increase |
| May 2025 | £7 | +17% | Second increase |
| 6 January 2026 | £10 | +43% | Largest single UK airport rise |
Two Terminals, Two Separate Charges — the Mistake That Costs £20
Gatwick is the only London airport with two entirely separate terminal buildings, each with its own forecourt zone and its own road approach. Gatwick north drop off and Gatwick south drop off are billed as completely independent visits. Every entry is a distinct ANPR event. Drive to the wrong terminal, realise, and drive to the right one, and you have paid twice.
- easyJet — all routes since March 2026
- Ryanair
- Jet2 — North base since March 2026
- Norwegian, Emirates, Turkish Airlines
- Air Canada, WestJet, Condor
- British Airways — always South
- Virgin Atlantic
- TUI — most flights
- Vueling, Iberia Express
- Most charter operators
How to Pay — and Why You Cannot Do It Before You Leave
Gatwick airport drop off payment is handled entirely after the fact. There are no barriers to stop at, no ticket to take and no machine in the zone. Cameras record the number plate on entry and again on exit, and the fee is worked out from the gap between the two. That last detail is the one that catches people out.
AutoPay — the Sensible Choice if You Do This Route Regularly
A Gatwick drop off AutoPay account links your registration to a card and settles each visit automatically. Once the account is set up you never open the portal again — no deadline, no memory required. It runs on the same NCP system as the manual portal, so a single Gatwick drop off login covers both.
One failure mode is worth knowing about, because it accounts for most AutoPay users who still receive a PCN: a replaced bank card. When your bank issues a new card, the stored payment method fails silently and the next visit goes unpaid. Sign in to your Gatwick drop off account and update the card the day it arrives, not the next time you happen to be driving to Gatwick.
If a Gatwick Drop Off Fine Arrives
The Gatwick drop off penalty is £100, but paying £60 within 14 days closes it. Miss that window and it reverts to the full amount. Appeals go through NCP using the reference on the notice. Grounds that succeed: an ANPR misread logging the wrong plate, a payment made but not registered where you hold bank evidence, a valid Blue Badge exemption charged in error, or a genuine medical emergency on the forecourt.
Grounds that do not succeed: forgetting, the website being slow, or not seeing the signage. Worth weighing carefully — using the 14-day window to appeal rather than pay means the charge returns to £100 if the appeal is rejected.
The Free Option Still Exists — Long Stay Gives You Two Hours
There is still a genuinely free drop off at Gatwick, and at two hours it remains among the most generous of any London airport. This Gatwick parking drop off route uses the Long Stay car park at either terminal with a free shuttle, and neither charges anything if you are out inside the window.
| Option | Cost | To terminal | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Stay North | Free · 2 hrs | Shuttle ~5 min | Families, luggage, unhurried goodbyes |
| Long Stay South | Free · 2 hrs | Shuttle 7–12 min | BA and Virgin passengers with time |
| Short Stay (both) | From ~£5–8 / 30 min | Walk 3–5 min | Stops of 20–30 min — beats the meter |
| Express Drop Off zone | £10 · then £1/min | Walk 1–3 min | Quick kerbside handover |
Gatwick airport parking drop off works like any other car park visit: take a ticket at the Long Stay barrier — you need it to exit — and park in any free bay. Shuttles run every ten to twelve minutes. The two terminals are not equivalent here: South Terminal Long Stay sits closer and its shuttle takes seven to ten minutes, while North Terminal Long Stay is further out and the transfer can stretch to twenty or thirty minutes at busy periods. If you are dropping at North with a tight check-in, factor that in or use Short Stay instead.
Blue Badge Exemption and the Local Commuter Scheme
The Gatwick drop off Blue Badge exemption is one of the few in London — Stansted and Luton offer nothing equivalent. The exemption is real, but you must pre-register — it is not automatic, and that distinction matters.
Registering a Blue Badge Exemption
Claim the Gatwick drop off exemption at gatwick-app.zatpermit.com before each visit. You will need the vehicle registration, the passenger's name, the flight date and a photo or scan of the badge. NCP confirms with a two-hour arrival window — enter outside that window and the exemption does not apply.
The badge holder does not need to own the car; the badge simply needs to be in it. Registration cannot be done at the forecourt, on the day, or retrospectively. It is per-visit, not once — and if the vehicle changes, the new plate needs registering before the next trip.
| Airport | Blue Badge | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | Exempt | Automatic — no registration needed |
| Gatwick | Exempt | NCP pre-registration required before every visit |
| London City | Exempt | Pre-registration required |
| Luton | Partial | Free time in TCP1/TCP2 instead of forecourt exemption |
| Stansted | Not exempt | Standard charge applies |
The Local Commuter Scheme — RH6 and RH11 Residents
Residents in postcodes RH6 0, RH6 9 and RH11 0 — Horley, parts of Crawley, and the immediate airport area — can join a scheme costing £50 a year for two free drop offs per day at South Terminal. It exists mainly for residents dropping commuters at Gatwick railway station rather than air passengers. Applications go through the airport's own website. It does not extend to private hire vehicles working commercially.
How Gatwick Compares With Every Other London Airport
Airport drop off charges now apply at every London airport, and the rules to drop off Gatwick Airport travellers are among the strictest. What varies is the price, the window you get for it, whether the overstay is metered or banded, and whether any free alternative survives.
| Airport | Charge | Overstay | Blue Badge | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatwick LGW | £10 / 10 min | £1/min to £30 | Exempt (pre-reg) | Long Stay 2 hrs |
| Stansted STN | £10 / 15 min | Flat £28 band | Not exempt | Mid-Stay 60 min |
| London City LCY | £8 / 5 min | £1/min to 10 min | Exempt (pre-reg) | None |
| Southend SEN | £8 / 10 min | Per minute | Check with airport | Long Stay 30 min |
| Heathrow LHR | £7 / 10 min | Per minute | Exempt (automatic) | Long Stay 30 min |
| Luton LTN | £7 / 10 min | £1/min to 30 min | TCP1/TCP2 free | Long Stay 2 hrs |
The Gatwick and Stansted comparison comes up most often because the headline figures match. Under fifteen minutes there is nothing between them. Beyond that the structures diverge sharply: a twenty-minute stop costs £20 at Gatwick and £28 at Stansted, because Stansted bands where Gatwick meters. Gatwick also exempts Blue Badge holders where Stansted does not. Working against Gatwick is the two-terminal geography and the double-charge risk that comes with it. Our Stansted drop off guide and Luton drop off guide cover those two in full.
Workarounds That Circulate Online and Get Drivers Fined
Several supposed ways to drop off at Gatwick airport without paying do the rounds on social media. Each one carries a penalty at least as large as the charge it claims to avoid.
Using the Shell garage near South Terminal. Enforcement applies to vehicles that stop without buying fuel or entering the shop. A drop-off without a purchase triggers a notice.
Stopping on Airport Way or London Road. Both approach roads are camera-monitored. Stopping outside a marked zone triggers a separate £100 PCN for the stopping offence, in addition to anything owed on the forecourt.
Paying before you exit. Not a workaround but a genuine misunderstanding — and the most expensive one, because drivers who do this believe the charge is settled and stop thinking about the deadline.
Which Option Actually Fits Your Situation
| Situation | Best choice | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Solo passenger, hand luggage, no time pressure | Long Stay + free shuttle | £0 |
| Family, several cases, early departure | Pre-booked taxi or Long Stay | Fare or £0 |
| Need 20+ min inside the terminal | Short Stay — walking distance | ~£5–8 |
| Blue Badge holder in the vehicle | NCP exemption slot | £0 |
| Straight kerbside handover under 10 min | Express forecourt — just pay it | £10 |
| RH6 or RH11 resident, regular runs | Local Commuter Scheme | £50/yr |
| Two or more Gatwick runs a day | AutoPay account | £10/visit |
Booking a Taxi Instead — the Charge Is Inside the Fare
With Gatwick Taxi Transfer the £10 is pre-settled through a business operator account. Nothing to pay at the terminal, no portal, no midnight deadline, no PCN exposure. The terminal is confirmed from your flight number at booking, which removes the wrong-terminal risk entirely.
| From | Distance | Saloon from | MPV from | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horley | ~2 miles | £12 | £18 | 5–10 min |
| Crawley | ~5 miles | £16 | £22 | 8–15 min |
| Redhill | ~8 miles | £22 | £30 | 14–22 min |
| Reigate | ~9 miles | £24 | £32 | 15–25 min |
| Croydon | ~20 miles | £35 | £48 | 28–42 min |
| Brighton | ~25 miles | £42 | £58 | 35–50 min |
| South London SE1, SW4 | ~28 miles | £45 | £62 | 38–60 min |
| Central London WC1, SW1 | ~30 miles | £55 | £75 | 45–75 min |
All fares are per vehicle with the £10 charge already inside them, along with meet and greet on arrivals and flight tracking. Three people sharing from Central London works out at roughly £18 each — comparable to the train once you add getting to Victoria, and door to terminal rather than platform to platform. For an exact figure, use the online quote tool or call 020 3617 7825.
£10 for up to 10 minutes, then £1 per additional minute to a £30 maximum at the 30-minute limit. Both terminals, same rate, since 6 January 2026. Overstaying or non-payment brings a £100 PCN, reduced to £60 within 14 days.
At postpay.dropoff.gatwickairport.com, after you have exited the zone, by midnight the following day. Also payable on 0330 174 4503. Card only. AutoPay settles it automatically for regular drivers.
Yes — Long Stay at both terminals is free for 2 hours, with a free shuttle (about 5 minutes from North, 7–12 from South). Take a ticket at the barrier and exit within the window.
No. The ANPR system prices the visit from your exit time, so it cannot calculate anything until you have driven out. Paying early produces a transaction that does not register — and drivers then miss the actual deadline.
£30, reached at the 30-minute maximum stay — £10 for the first ten minutes plus £20 for the remaining twenty at £1 each. Stay beyond 30 minutes and it becomes a £100 PCN instead.
Yes, but only with advance registration at gatwick-app.zatpermit.com before each visit. NCP issues a two-hour arrival window. Unlike Heathrow, it is not automatic — arrive unregistered and you pay.
The charge
Paying
Free & exempt
Gatwick Drop Off Charge — Your Questions Answered
The Gatwick drop off charge is £10 for up to 10 minutes, then £1 for each additional minute up to a maximum stay of 30 minutes. The maximum charge is £30 — that is £10 for the first 10 minutes plus £20 for the remaining 20 minutes. The charge applies identically at both North and South Terminal forecourts and took effect on 6 January 2026, up from £7.
Pay online at postpay.dropoff.gatwickairport.com after you have exited the drop off zone, or by phone on the automated line 0330 174 4503. AutoPay accounts settle the charge automatically for frequent drivers. The deadline is midnight the day after your visit. Payment is by card only — there is no cash option and no payment machines exist in the zone.
No. The barrierless ANPR system needs to record your exit time before it can calculate the correct fee, so the portal cannot process a payment while you are still inside the forecourt. Drive out first, then pay. Drivers who attempt to pay during the stop often find the transaction does not register and go on to miss the midnight deadline.
A £100 Parking Charge Notice is issued, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. PCNs are also issued for overstaying the 30-minute maximum. NCP administers enforcement on Gatwick's behalf. Appeals are possible through the NCP website on grounds such as an ANPR misread, a payment that was made but not registered, or a valid Blue Badge exemption that was charged in error.
Yes. The Long Stay car parks at both North and South Terminals give up to 2 hours free. Collect a ticket at the barrier, park in any free bay, and take the free shuttle bus to the terminal — around 5 minutes from North Terminal Long Stay and 7 to 12 minutes from South. Exit within 2 hours and nothing is charged.
Yes, but the exemption is not automatic. Register in advance at gatwick-app.zatpermit.com with your vehicle registration, the passenger's name, the flight date and a copy of the Blue Badge. NCP confirms with a two-hour arrival window. Arriving without a pre-booked exemption means the standard £10 charge applies and must be claimed back afterwards. This differs from Heathrow, where the Blue Badge exemption is automatic.
Each terminal entry is charged separately. Arriving at North Terminal for a South Terminal flight and then driving to South Terminal means paying £10 twice — £20 minimum. There is no vehicle crossing between the two forecourts; the free inter-terminal shuttle carries passengers only. Always confirm the terminal from the boarding pass before setting off.
Gatwick raised the charge from £7 to £10 on 6 January 2026, citing a more than doubling of its business rates following the Autumn Budget 2025. The 43% rise was described by the RAC as the largest single drop off increase seen at any UK airport. The charge has now doubled since the barrierless system launched at £5 in March 2021.
Residents in postcode areas RH6 0, RH6 9 and RH11 0 — covering Horley, parts of Crawley and the immediate airport area — can pay £50 per year for two free drop offs per day at South Terminal. It is designed for residents who regularly drop commuters at Gatwick railway station rather than air passengers, and does not apply to private hire vehicles operating commercially.
With Gatwick Taxi Transfer the £10 charge is pre-settled through a business operator account and is inside the confirmed fare. There is no portal to visit, no midnight deadline to remember and no PCN risk. Always confirm this at booking with any operator, as some quote a base fare and add the charge at journey end.
- check£10 for 10 minutes, £1 per minute after, £30 maximum at the 30-minute limit. No grace period. Same at both terminals since 6 January 2026.
- checkPay after you exit at postpay.dropoff.gatwickairport.com or on 0330 174 4503, by midnight the following day. The system cannot price the visit until it logs your exit.
- check£100 PCN for overstaying or missing the deadline, cut to £60 within 14 days. NCP handles enforcement and appeals.
- checkWrong terminal costs double. No vehicle route between forecourts. easyJet is North since March 2026; British Airways is always South. Check the boarding pass.
- checkLong Stay is free for 2 hours at both terminals with a shuttle. Short Stay beats the meter for stops over 20 minutes.
- checkBlue Badge exempt — but register first at gatwick-app.zatpermit.com before every visit. Not automatic, unlike Heathrow.
- checkA pre-booked taxi settles it for you. Charge inside the fare, terminal confirmed at booking, no deadline and no PCN exposure.
The £10 charge is pre-settled inside every Gatwick Taxi Transfer fare. Terminal confirmed from your flight number at booking. Fixed price, both terminals, 24/7.
