Birmingham Airport have raised drop-off fees for drivers - find out why

Birmingham Airport is one of those putting up prices, now charging £5 for 15 minutes – up £1 on the previous charge.

The RAC, which carried out the study, said it is “bordering on the ridiculous” for drivers to pay significant amounts for “the briefest of stops”.

A study reveals that seven out of 20 airports examined have increased their “kiss and fly” charges since last summer.

These charges are typically imposed for dropping off someone as close to a terminal as possible.

Birmingham, along with Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Bristol, has increased fees by £1. Gatwick now charges £6 for 10 minutes, as do Edinburgh and Bristol.

Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, and Aberdeen are among the three other airports that have increased their prices by 50p. Despite not increasing its price this year, Stansted remains the most expensive airport for drop-off costs, with an initial fee of £7 for 15 minutes.

Nine airports have maintained their prices this year.

This includes Manchester, which charges £5 for just a five-minute stay, offering the least value among all major airports. Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, charges the same amount but without a time limit.

Generally, passengers dropped off at airports by taxis and private hire vehicles have the fees added to their fares. Cardiff, Inverness, and London City were the only airports analysed that allow free drop-offs outside terminals.

Following a car park fire in October last year, Luton has a free drop-off area near its Mid Stay Car Park, which is a 10-minute walk or a shuttle bus ride from the terminal.

Many airports offer free options for dropping passengers off in mid- or long-stay car parks connected to terminals by buses.

More than a third f respondents to an RAC-commissioned survey who had dropped someone off at an airport in the previous 12 months said there was no feasible public transport alternative.

Some 59 per cent of those polled said the reason for driving was the impracticality of airline passengers travelling with lots of luggage on public transport.

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.

"Increased charges at airports that have relatively poor public transport access - for instance, no direct rail or tram link - also seems pretty unreasonable.

"Some airports say the reason they charge for drop-offs at all is to discourage people from driving in the first place, but if the alternatives are non-existent, expensive or unreliable then what choice do people really have?"

A spokesman for trade body Airports UK said: "UK airports offer a range of options for those travelling to and from terminals, with many providing free drop-off facilities at various locations.

"Non-aeronautical income such as drop-off fees allow airports to keep charges to airlines low and to invest in sustainable transport options, benefiting travellers through lower air fares and increased connectivity.

"It also supports the record investments airports are making in improved facilities and infrastructure to create the best possible experience for passengers, as well as encourage people travelling to airports to make use of other, more sustainable forms of transport."

The survey was carried out by research company Online95 in May. A total of 1,841 drivers were questioned, of whom 72% had driven to an airport to drop someone off before a flight within the previous 12 months.