Dropping someone off at Gatwick

The terminal forecourts carry a drop-off charge. There is a free alternative in the long stay car parks, and a third option that is often the most sensible of all.

Last reviewed 6 September 2026. Prices and car park rules change often — confirm the current details before you travel.

If you are driving someone to Gatwick rather than flying yourself, you have three options, and they differ more than people expect — in cost, in time, and in how much help you can actually give with the bags.

Option one: the terminal forecourt

Each terminal has a drop-off zone right outside, and it carries a charge. You get a short permitted period for the basic fee, with additional charges if you stay longer.

The zones are enforced by number plate recognition. There is no barrier and no ticket machine — the system reads your plate on the way in and out, and you pay separately, online or by phone. This catches people out: it is easy to drive away having genuinely forgotten, and the penalty for not paying within the deadline is much larger than the charge would have been.

What you are buying is the shortest possible walk. What you are not buying is time. The permitted period is short and it is designed to keep traffic moving, so this is a stop for unloading and a hug, not for a coffee and a proper goodbye.

Rates and permitted times change. Check the airport's current published tariff before you travel.

Option two: free drop-off in the long stay car parks

The airport provides a free drop-off area in the long stay car parks. You drive there, your passenger gets out, and they take the free transfer bus into the terminal.

It costs nothing. The trade is that your passenger now has a bus journey and a wait between them and the check-in desk, so they need to have allowed for it, and you cannot see them off any further than the bus stop.

For a confident adult traveller with hand luggage, this is an easy saving and there is no real reason not to use it. For someone anxious, elderly, heavily laden or travelling with small children, the bus is a genuine imposition and the forecourt charge starts to look reasonable.

Option three: park in short stay and go in with them

This is the option people forget, and it is frequently the best one.

The short stay multi-storey sits alongside each terminal. Park there and you can walk in with your passenger, help with the bags, queue at bag drop with them, and say goodbye properly — without a timer running and without anyone catching a bus.

It costs more than nothing and, for a very brief visit, may cost more than the forecourt. But it buys something the other two options do not: unhurried time inside the terminal. For a child flying alone, a nervous first-time flyer, or an elderly relative, that is not a luxury.

Choosing between them

A reasonable rule of thumb:

• Confident traveller, light luggage, plenty of time — use the free long stay drop-off and save the money.
• Running late, or the passenger just needs to be at the door — the forecourt, and pay it promptly.
• Anyone who would benefit from you coming inside — short stay, and accept the cost.

Practical points

• Pay the forecourt charge the same day. Set a reminder before you drive off. This is the single most common way a cheap drop-off becomes an expensive one.
• Check which terminal before you set off. The turnings differ and correcting the mistake costs real time.
• Do not wait on the forecourt for a delayed passenger. It is not designed for it, and it is charged accordingly.
• Collections are a different problem. Flights are late; the forecourt is a bad place to wait. Our guide to picking someone up covers the alternatives.