[Finance] gatwick drop-off fee £5

[doogie004]

To be quite honest £6 or £7 there is no big difference, and l would be happy to pay it. Passengers can always be dropped off at one of the Long Stay car parks, be it North or South Terminal, and take the transfer bus back to the Terminal. for free,

It isn't as if people don't have a choice!

You say no big difference but as a taxi driver you tell people the price of a taxi drop has gone up and they DO moan

 

[Guinness Boy]

You say no big difference but as a taxi driver you tell people the price of a taxi drop has gone up and they DO moan

Do they? An extra pound? After spending thousands on a holiday or going away for business on expenses?

I recently had to get to Heathrow early on a Sunday for a flight and got an Uber. Competitively priced with local firms but with the option to tip if the journey was good. Bloke was on time, had a nice clean Merc and got me to T5 three hours before my flight time. The app offers you tips of £1, £2 or £5, which, on a £130 fare is nothing really. Bloke got a fiver.

I'm sure people will understand if their Gatwick fare goes up by only a pound in relation to what cabs charge for that run. Unless cabbies are adding extra or not giving the customer the option of being dropped at long term parking?

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Ive dropped my lad at the McDonalds (South terminal) a couple of times (provided the weather is ok). You get an hours free parking, can grab a coffee etc and you can take some time over saying goodbye, and see them off properly, without any charge. Can also use the BP garage or M&S if McDs is full.

Take the turn before the long stay car park towards the Hilton Hotel (along Eastway), pull into the car park opposite, unload, and its about a 5 min walk back to the Hilton for them. Theres a walkway into the terminal directly from the hotel foyer / bar area. Simple

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

A cab ... Surely that's a little extravagant even for you HT. At a guess The Pond to Brewdog is about a 7 minute walk, and it's downhill!!

Good point, difficult to argue against! I remember we were quite a few pints in, and the cab just appeared…valuable drinking time etc

 

[Ace Grace]

I've got to pick up my sister from Gatwick in a couple of months.

Is my only option the short stay car park or can I stop at a drop off point to pick her up?

If I'm able to use the drop off, how do I pay for it? Do I create an account first or do they contact me after scanning my number plate?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

To be quite honest £6 or £7 there is no big difference, and l would be happy to pay it. Passengers can always be dropped off at one of the Long Stay car parks, be it North or South Terminal, and take the transfer bus back to the Terminal. for free,

It isn't as if people don't have a choice!

Quite. If you’ve shelled out for a taxi, a flight, a hotel and 11 pre-flight pints in Whetherspoons then 1 extra pound isn’t going to have a huge impact.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Quite. If you’ve shelled out for a taxi, a flight, a hotel and 11 pre-flight pints in Whetherspoons then 1 extra pound isn’t going to have a huge impact.

This. Imagine dropping off your loved ones in the Long Stay Car Park just to save a couple of quid

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

You say no big difference but as a taxi driver you tell people the price of a taxi drop has gone up and they DO moan

So are you saying the cab fare has gone up by all of one pound then

This. Imagine dropping off your loved ones in the Long Stay Car Park just to save a couple of quid

To me £7 is a bargain, as opposed to dropping off for free, at the North Terminal Long Stay Car Park, which is a good 15 minute drive from the terminal. On occasion having to wait for an extended period for a bus to arrive, in cold and/or wet weather.

A no brainer.

 

[doogie004]

Quite. If you’ve shelled out for a taxi, a flight, a hotel and 11 pre-flight pints in Whetherspoons then 1 extra pound isn’t going to have a huge impact.

The bigger question now is when will it stop ?
£7 £10 £15 ?

 

[arewethereyet?]

Ive dropped my lad at the McDonalds (South terminal) a couple of times (provided the weather is ok). You get an hours free parking, can grab a coffee etc and you can take some time over saying goodbye, and see them off properly, without any charge. Can also use the BP garage or M&S if McDs is full.

Take the turn before the long stay car park towards the Hilton Hotel (along Eastway), pull into the car park opposite, unload, and its about a 5 min walk back to the Hilton for them. Theres a walkway into the terminal directly from the hotel foyer / bar area. Simple

They also have ANPR cameras fully focused on the entrance and exit of their parking area at the front of the hotel.

 

[doogie004]

So are you saying the cab fare has gone up by all of one pound then

To me £7 is a bargain, as opposed to dropping off for free, at the North Terminal Long Stay Car Park, which is a good 15 minute drive from the terminal. On occasion having to wait for an extended period for a bus to arrive, in cold and/or wet weather.

A no brainer.

I put mine up £5 beginning of this year
But still don’t cover the rise in
Fuel
Tyres
Servicing
Licences
Insurance
If only you knew some of the red tape now involved

 

[happypig]

I've got to pick up my sister from Gatwick in a couple of months.

Is my only option the short stay car park or can I stop at a drop off point to pick her up?

If I'm able to use the drop off, how do I pay for it? Do I create an account first or do they contact me after scanning my number plate?

You can pick up from a drop off point. If North terminal I use the bay outside Premier Inn (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Kn8bBioYq9WhwENg9).
If you'd rather go in the car park it is, iirc, £6 for 30 mins.
Paying drop off charge go to https://www.gatwickairport.com/transport-options/drop-off.html . You have until midnight the next day to pay it.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

They also have ANPR cameras fully focused on the entrance and exit of their parking area at the front of the hotel.

I think he’s talking about the Macdonalds car park not the Hilton (who have got wise as you confirm)

There’s a Macdonalds but also a KFC with a sizeable carpatk now.

Also for Macdonalds if you don’t go into the car park but were to drop in the collection point bays on the left you don’t go through the ANPR

 

[trueblue]

Gatwick Airport is increasing the price of its drop-off zones by £1, bringing the minimum charge to £7.

The rise comes in from Friday for drivers dropping passengers at the airport's forecourts.

In January 2024 a previous increase saw the fee go from £5 to £6.

There's no need to pay it. There's a template letter on Moneysavingexpert which gets it overturned by NCP. The time limit breaches the parking companies' own code of conduct or something. My wife fell foul of the drop-off charge twice by forgetting about it and the letter worked both times. Just follow the instructions carefully (assuming this hasn't changed in the last 6 months or so). It's absolutely essential to only admit to being the registered keeper and not reveal the driver. They're not the police. There is no obligation to do so.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

Greedy barstewards...As bad as charging for a piss....

Never paid it, never will...

If going with my old man use his raspberry badge, with gf/mates get dropped off at the petrol station so not to be a blue badge abuser...

 

[happypig]

There's no need to pay it. There's a template letter on Moneysavingexpert which gets it overturned by NCP. The time limit breaches the parking companies' own code of conduct or something. My wife fell foul of the drop-off charge twice by forgetting about it and the letter worked both times. Just follow the instructions carefully (assuming this hasn't changed in the last 6 months or so).

The relevant info is here : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.co...thread-for-heathrow-and-gatwick-drop-off-pcns

I'm off to gatwick tonight to collect my son and not paying.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

I’m dropping my lad and family off at Gatwick North later this month. If it really is that easy to avoid paying, I just wonder why Gatwick still do this and why they haven’t tried to overcome some of the issues like much better signage before someone ends up getting to the point of return which means they have to drive through. And why isn’t there more in the media to let everyone know they don’t have to pay

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

The bigger question now is when will it stop ?
£7 £10 £15 ?

Four billion pounds.

 

[BevBHA]

You can pick up from a drop off point. If North terminal I use the bay outside Premier Inn (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Kn8bBioYq9WhwENg9).
If you'd rather go in the car park it is, iirc, £6 for 30 mins.
Paying drop off charge go to https://www.gatwickairport.com/transport-options/drop-off.html . You have until midnight the next day to pay it.

If at north terminal just wait in the shell garage on the main roundabout you get 20 mins free. Wait for the call to say they’re waiting at drop off and drive around

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

This. Imagine dropping off your loved ones in the Long Stay Car Park just to save a couple of quid

People book 35k holidays with a connecting flight in London and don't give themselves any time for a delay/cancellation because its more expensive

The mindset of people confuses me