Drop off and pick up at Gatwick Airport

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I've become a bit of an expert at drop off and pick up at Gatwick Airport over the last couple of years.

Gatwick Airport have committed to 52% of journey to and from the airport being made by public transport by 2030.  Very commendable.

Seems they intend to do this by raising parking charges to levels that include the loss of arms, legs and even testicles.

"The charge will be £5 for 10 minutes, and £1 for each additional minute up to 20 minutes. The maximum charge will be £25 and the maximum length of stay 30 mins."

Today it is £6, for both quick drop-off and up to 15 minutes pick-up.

It says there "£25" maximum charge.  I don't believe that.

What to do

We had a double-pickup yesterday - friends leaving, being dropped-off at 13.50 and daughter arriving back by 16.30.  When I entered this into the pre-booking system it says £55!  There are only 30 minute increments available.


So what I did this time was drop the friends of, and drop off wife...  £6 for the "drop off"

Cleared off to Tesco (even here there's a 3 hour limit so watch out), and waited for the call that daughter had arrived, got her bag off the carousel, and then went back in following signs for "express pick up" - it's on level 0 of tower 3 of the short-term parking.  Another £6.


It's about 10mins drive.  I filled up with gas, and air in the tires.  

I had to drop the wife because our daughter was unaccompanied minor travelling.  If you've got fully grown visitors make sure they through into the arrivals hall before departing Tesco because...

What not to do

Don't use the long term parking option.

Last year I had to pickup my son's (then) girlfriend - he's been dumped and upgraded now anyway - and she's got an Andorran passport.

We did it, the recommended, free way of doing things:  Park in Long-Term, take the bus with everyone humping massive suitcases around, wait at terminal, and then do the reverse.  They give you 2 hours free - that should be plenty right?  Wrong.

In our post-brexit paranoia the passport officials felt the need to give her the 3rd degree (Andorra is a much nicer place than England guys!! She's not coming here for any benefits either), but her bags could easily have been delayed also.  It took forever for her to get passed the border.

We then must have just missed the long-term parking bus, waited ages for the next one.  Waited while everyone was humping their massive suitcases off, ... and missed the 2 hours parking limit by seconds - wham - £24 fee.  This is the full daily rate.  Note today that's now £38!!

I smell rip-off Britain

I bet a lof of people get caught out with a full days parking at Long Stay - I note they've jiggled it a bit more even for maximum damage - my £24 was a flat daily rate from day 1 - now the "normal" daily rate is £32 - so they just hit you even more for that first day  (or 2hrs and 2 mins).

Charging the full daily rate for a minor overstay is a rigged system that doesn’t account for the actual time spent beyond the limit. A more reasonable approach would be a graduated fee, where a slight overstay results in a small additional charge rather than the full daily rate.

The necessity of taking a 15-minute bus ride to and from the terminal adds stress and makes it more difficult to stay within the allotted free parking time. The irregular bus service exacerbates this issue, making it harder to predict and plan for delays.

Another thing to watch for:  And I can't believe I'm posting this...

When you pay for the drop-off parking at https://postpay.dropoff.gatwickairport.com/ 


There is a cash back offer of £20.87 !!

This is a classic example of deceptive marketing, where a payment process is used to lure customers into a subscription service under the guise of a cash-back reward. 

The small print reveals the actual cost, which is easily overlooked in the excitement or hurry of completing a transaction.

Note the way it's written as well...  18 pounds rather than £18 - which would catch your eye.

It links to a company with a 3.4 rating on Trustpilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.completesavings.co.uk 

And some pretty negative comments on MSE.

When a company like Gatwick Airport Ltd sinks so low...  

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