Gatwick Airport £10 Drop-Off Fee Sparks Outrage Among Travellers and Taxi Drivers

For many people heading to Gatwick, the trip now starts with a pause. Not at the terminal. Earlier than that. The drop-off charge has climbed to £10 for ten minutes, and suddenly a simple lift or taxi ride feels like a decision that needs thinking through. Again.

This fee began at £5 back in 2021. It didn’t stay there long. It crept up, step by step, and now sits at a level that quietly changes behaviour. Families with suitcases. Solo travellers on dawn flights. Anyone trying to keep costs under control. That £10 rarely stands alone. It gets added to taxi fares, folded into the total, and makes short airport runs feel awkwardly expensive.

Taxi drivers say they’re seeing it already. Fewer bookings. More hesitation. Some passengers now ask to be dropped nearby instead, dragging cases down pavements that were never meant for airport luggage. What used to be straightforward has become slightly uncomfortable. And sometimes, not worth it.

Nadeem Mehmood, taxi driver, stated:

"We have lost lots of business because of this. It's too expensive."

From the airport’s side, the explanation is familiar. Rising costs. Business rates that have more than doubled. Gatwick says the decision wasn’t taken lightly, and points to alternatives. Long-stay car parks. Free shuttle buses. Public transport links that, on paper, look perfectly reasonable.

A Gatwick Airport spokesperson explaind:

"The increase in the drop-off charge is meant to encourage travellers to use public transport. Less cars. Less chaos outside the terminals. The idea, they say, is simple. If driving costs more, people think twice. Trains, buses, suddenly feel like the easier option. It’s all about cutting congestion at the entrance. Even if not everyone agrees it’ll work."

But paper and reality don’t always match. Early-morning flights are the problem. Trains don’t always run early enough. When they do, they can be expensive. Buses aren’t ideal when you’ve got bags and nowhere to put them. For some parts of the country, public transport simply isn’t there when you need it.

Lisa Francesca Nand, presenter of The Big Travel Podcast, stated:

"It's the principle. That's what people object to."

So travellers are left weighing things up. Pay more and get dropped close. Take longer routes and shuttles. Or gamble on public transport that may or may not line up with your flight. For taxi drivers, it’s fewer quick fares and tighter margins. One fee. Small window of time. But it ripples out, changing how people move to the airport at all.