Gatwick drop-off charges: North Terminal, South Terminal and the free alternative
Written and maintained by the minicabit editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy by Amer Hasan.
Last updated 09/09/26.
At a glance
- Gatwick charges a minimum of £10 to use the North or South Terminal drop-off zones, covering the first 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, the published rate is £1 for each additional minute up to 20 minutes, with a maximum charge of £30 and a maximum stay of 30 minutes.
- The charge applies 24 hours a day at both terminals and must be paid by midnight the day after your visit.
- You can pay online, by phone or automatically through an AutoPay account. There are no payment machines at the terminal.
- For a free alternative, use the Long Stay car park, where parking is free for up to two hours and a free shuttle runs to the terminals.
- Blue Badge holders can qualify for a free 30-minute drop-off session, but the vehicle must be registered with Gatwick in advance.
- If you pre-book your Gatwick journey through minicabit, the Private Hire Operator handles the airport drop-off charge as part of the fixed fare.
Dropping someone off at Gatwick Airport is straightforward once you know which terminal you need, where the designated forecourt zones are and what your options are if you want to avoid the drop-off charge.
Both the North and South Terminals have their own drop-off areas, while Gatwick also provides a free Long Stay alternative with shuttle connections to the terminals. This guide explains where to go, how payment works, what Blue Badge holders need to know and where drivers should head when collecting passengers instead.
How much is the Gatwick drop-off charge?
A single visit to a Gatwick forecourt drop-off zone costs a minimum of £10, which covers the first 10 minutes. Beyond that the airport charges £1 for each additional minute up to 20 minutes, with a maximum charge of £30 and a maximum stay of 30 minutes.
The charge applies at both the North Terminal and the South Terminal, 24 hours a day. It applies to every vehicle that enters the zone, including private cars, taxis and Private Hire Vehicles.
There is no barrier and no ticket machine. The forecourts are monitored by Automatic Number Plate Recognition, which is a camera system that reads and records a vehicle’s registration on entry and exit so the length of the visit can be calculated automatically. Because nothing is collected at the roadside, the payment step happens afterwards and it is the step drivers most often miss.
Source: London Gatwick, Drop-off charges and Drop-off FAQs, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026.
North Terminal or South Terminal: which one you should be dropped at
You should be dropped at the terminal your airline departs from, which is printed on your booking confirmation. If you get it wrong, the free inter-terminal shuttle connects the two in about two minutes, so the mistake costs you time rather than money.
The inter-terminal shuttle is a free automated transit service running 24 hours a day between Gatwick’s North and South Terminals, with a journey time of around two minutes and departures every few minutes. Luggage trolleys are permitted on board, as are electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
This is the part of Gatwick’s layout that catches people out, and it works in your favour. Because the shuttle is free, frequent and quick, the terminal decision is reversible. The 30-minute clock on the forecourt is not. A driver who pulls in early, waits while bags are found and paperwork is checked, and only then unloads, is paying by the minute for the privilege.
For orientation: the airport’s rail station sits directly beneath the South Terminal, which is why the South Terminal forecourt tends to be the busier of the two at peak departure waves.
Source: London Gatwick, Drop-off FAQs and inter-terminal shuttle guidance, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026.
North Terminal and South Terminal drop-off compared
The charge and the payment deadline are identical at both terminals. The zone location, the free alternative and the Arrivals pick-up point are not.
| North Terminal | South Terminal | |
| Drop-off charge | £10 minimum for 10 minutes, then £1 per additional minute up to 20 minutes. £30 maximum charge, 30-minute maximum stay. | £10 minimum for 10 minutes, then £1 per additional minute up to 20 minutes. £30 maximum charge, 30-minute maximum stay. |
| Drop-off zone location | Forecourt, lower level, between the Sofitel and the multi-storey car park. Exit the M23 at junction 9, then follow signs for North Terminal. | Forecourt, lower level, signposted Drop Off from the approach road. Exit the M23 at junction 9, then turn left at the first roundabout for South Terminal. |
| Payment deadline | Midnight the next day after the visit. Online, by phone on 0330 174 4503, or automatically via an AutoPay account. | Midnight the next day after the visit. Online, by phone on 0330 174 4503, or automatically via an AutoPay account. |
| Free alternative | Long Stay car park. Free for up to 2 hours, with a free shuttle bus of around 10 to 12 minutes to the terminal. | Long Stay car park. Free for up to 2 hours, with a free shuttle bus of around 5 to 10 minutes to the terminal. |
| Arrivals pick-up point | Express pick-up bays, Car Park 6, Level 4, in the Short Stay car park. You must stay with the vehicle. | Express pick-up bays, Car Park 3, ground floor, in the Short Stay car park. You must stay with the vehicle. |
All figures from London Gatwick: Drop-off charges, Picking up, and Drop-off FAQs, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026. Charges are set by the airport, not by minicabit, and are reviewed annually on this page.
How to pay the Gatwick drop-off charge
You can pay online, over the phone, or automatically through an AutoPay account, and payment must reach Gatwick by midnight the next day after your visit. There is no way to pay at the drop-off zone itself.
If you are paying after the event, wait until you have exited the zone before paying, so the camera system has recorded both the entry and the exit and can calculate the correct fee for the session. An AutoPay account works the other way round and has to be set up before you enter, after which the charge is debited automatically each time. Gatwick also runs an automated payment line on 0330 174 4503.
Miss the deadline and Gatwick issues a Parking Charge Notice of £100, reduced to £60 if it is paid within 14 days. The same £100 and £60 structure applies if a vehicle stops on one of the red routes around the airport, which are the double red lines where stopping, waiting and unloading are all prohibited.
Source: London Gatwick, Drop-off charges, Drop-off FAQs and red route guidance, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026.
How to drop off at Gatwick for free
The Long Stay car parks at both terminals are free for stays of up to two hours and include a free shuttle bus to the terminal, which makes them the only genuinely free way to drop someone off at Gatwick.
The shuttle buses run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, typically every 10 to 12 minutes. The journey takes around 5 to 10 minutes to the South Terminal and around 10 to 12 minutes to the North Terminal, so allow roughly 20 to 25 minutes on top of your arrival time to cover the walk to the stop, the wait, and the ride in. At peak times the buses fill and you may need to wait for the next one.
The Short Stay car parks sit between the two options. Parking there to collect or see off a passenger costs £8 for up to 30 minutes, after which the standard roll-up rate applies. That is the option to take if you want to walk into the terminal rather than say goodbye at the curb.
Source: London Gatwick, Drop-off charges, Parking FAQs and shuttle bus FAQs, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026.
Blue Badge exemptions, including when you arrive by taxi
Blue Badge holders are exempt from the Gatwick drop-off charge, but only if the vehicle’s number plate has been registered with the airport in advance. The exemption covers a single 30-minute free drop-off session.
Registration is done through the airport’s permit system and can be completed from three months before your flight up to the day before you travel. Applications made on or after the day of travel may not be accepted, so this is not something that can be sorted out from the curb. The vehicle owner can register on the Blue Badge holder’s behalf, provided evidence of the badge is supplied.
If you are arriving by taxi or Private Hire Vehicle
The exemption still applies, but it attaches to the vehicle rather than to you. That means you need the vehicle’s registration in advance and you need to register that plate yourself. Gatwick’s guidance is to request the number plate from the cab company before the day, register it, and use the confirmation email to show the driver that the drop-off is exempt.
This is one of the practical arguments for pre-booking rather than flagging something down. When you book a taxi to Gatwick in advance you have a named operator to ask for the registration, and enough notice to complete the registration before the cut-off time.
One trap worth knowing: if the vehicle is already registered to an AutoPay account, that account needs to be disabled for the visit, or the charge will be debited automatically despite the exemption.
Source: London Gatwick, Blue Badge drop-off exemption FAQs, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026. Scheme terms are set by the airport and can change – confirm before you travel.
Where Arrivals pick-up happens at Gatwick
Gatwick asks drivers collecting passengers to use the Short Stay car parks rather than the forecourt drop-off zones, which are intended for drop-off only. Express pick-up bays sit on Level 4 of Car Park 6 at the North Terminal, and on the ground floor of Car Park 3 at the South Terminal.
Arrivals is the landside area you reach after baggage reclaim and passport control, and it is where meeters and greeters wait. If you would rather come inside than sit in the car, park in the Short Stay car park and walk in – both terminals have coffee shops in the Arrivals area and free Wi-Fi while you wait. If you use an express bay instead, you have to stay with the vehicle, because unattended cars can be issued with a parking charge notice.
Long Stay remains the free option for collections as well as drop-offs, on the same two-hour allowance and the same free shuttle.
Source: London Gatwick, Picking up and Parking FAQs, gatwickairport.com, accessed 25 August 2026.
How a pre-booked Private Hire pick-up via minicabit works
A pre-booked Private Hire pick-up with minicabit removes the timing problem entirely. The driver tracks the flight, adjusts to the actual landing time, and meets the passenger inside Arrivals, so nobody is circling a charged zone or watching a 30-minute clock while a bag goes missing on the belt.
minicabit is a cab comparison platform rather than an operator, and owns no vehicles. It lets you instantly compare quotes from 1,000+ licensed Private Hire Operators, and the operator you select provides the driver and the vehicle.
Every Gatwick pick-up booked through minicabit includes Meet and Greet at no extra charge. In practice that means a named driver waiting inside the Arrivals hall of the terminal you selected, holding a name board, with live flight tracking so the pickup time moves automatically if the flight lands early or late, and up to 45 minutes of free waiting time measured from the actual landing time. The price is fixed at the point of booking, and cancellation is free up to the cancellation cut-off time.
Compare that with the alternative. A vehicle waiting on the forecourt is paying by the minute against a 30-minute ceiling, a vehicle circling the ring road cannot legally stop on a red route, and an on-demand ride requested from Arrivals is allocated after you have landed, at whatever the going rate is in that landing wave. A pre-booked airport transfer is priced before any of that happens.
Does the drop-off charge get added to a pre-booked fare?
No. When a Gatwick trip is pre-booked through minicabit, the forecourt drop-off charge is handled by the Private Hire Operator as part of the fixed fare, so it is not presented as a separate line item on arrival at the airport.
The figure you are shown when you compare quotes is the figure you pay. That is the practical difference between a fixed-price taxi booking and a metered fare, where airport charges, waiting time and traffic all land on the final total.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the drop-off charge at Gatwick?
Gatwick charges a minimum of £10 to enter the designated drop-off zones at either terminal, which covers the first 10 minutes. After that the airport charges £1 for each additional minute up to 20 minutes. The maximum charge is £30 and the maximum stay is 30 minutes. The charge is the same at the North Terminal and the South Terminal.
Is there anywhere you can drop off at Gatwick for free?
Yes. The Long Stay car parks at both terminals are free for up to two hours and include a free shuttle bus to the terminal. The shuttle runs 24 hours a day, typically every 10 to 12 minutes, and takes around 5 to 10 minutes to the South Terminal and 10 to 12 minutes to the North Terminal. There is no free option on the terminal forecourt itself.
What happens if you forget to pay the Gatwick drop-off charge?
Payment is due by midnight the next day after the visit. If it is not made in time, Gatwick issues a Parking Charge Notice of £100, reduced to £60 if it is paid within 14 days. You can pay online or on the automated line on 0330 174 4503, or set up an AutoPay account before your next visit so the charge is taken automatically.
Can you pick someone up from the Gatwick drop-off zone?
Gatwick asks drivers to use the Short Stay car parks for collections rather than the forecourt drop-off zones. Express pick-up bays are on Level 4 of Car Park 6 at the North Terminal and the ground floor of Car Park 3 at the South Terminal, and you must stay with the vehicle. Short Stay costs £8 for up to 30 minutes.
Do Blue Badge holders pay the Gatwick drop-off charge?
No, but the vehicle’s number plate has to be registered with the airport in advance and the exemption covers a 30-minute session. You can register from three months before the flight up to the day before travel. If you are arriving by cab, ask the operator for the vehicle registration in advance and register that plate. Applications on the day of travel may not be accepted.
Is the drop-off charge different at the North and South Terminals?
No. The charge, the 30-minute limit and the midnight-the-next-day payment deadline are identical at both terminals. What differs is where the zone sits, how long the free Long Stay shuttle takes, and which car park holds the express pick-up bays. The North Terminal zone is between the Sofitel and the multi-storey car park; the South Terminal zone is signposted from the approach road.
How do you get between the North and South Terminals at Gatwick?
A free inter-terminal shuttle runs 24 hours a day between the two terminals, with a journey time of around two minutes and departures every few minutes. Luggage trolleys, electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are all permitted on board. Signs in both terminals direct you to it, so being dropped at the wrong terminal costs time rather than money.
About minicabit
minicabit is the UK’s largest cab comparison service, using comparison technology to let customers instantly compare competitive, fixed quotes from 1,000+ licensed Private Hire Operators. The platform covers 550+ UK towns and cities with journeys available to pre-book up to 12 months in advance.
For airport pickups booked through minicabit, 45 minutes of free waiting time and Meet and Greet are included, with the driver waiting inside Arrivals with a name board and tracking the flight. Customers can choose from Standard, Executive and Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles, depending on availability and journey requirements.
minicabit is rated 4.4/5 from over 9,600 reviews on Trustpilot and was the first app to receive investment offers on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den and has won Best Ground Transport platform at the Travolution Awards four times, in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023. The platform counts Booking.com, Expedia and major UK airports including Stansted and Birmingham as partners.
Last reviewed on 09/09/2026 by Amer Hasan, [MD] of minicabit. Drop-off charges and travel information on this page are checked for accuracy at each review.
