- London government will conduct a 12-month review of airport drop-off charges.
- A proposed amendment calls for a £5 airport drop-off cap.
- The average fee across 27 airports stands at £6.70.
- Gatwick and Stansted hiked charges by more than 40pc to £10.
- Public transport accounts for 38pc of journeys to airports in England.
The Westminster government is set to commit to a 12-month review of drop-off charges imposed by airports in England, Scotland and Wales, and has urged airports to exercise restraint on rises. England’s Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill will go to committee stage in the London House of Commons later this month. The review calls for the Secretary of State to conduct and publish a review of the impact of airport drop-off charges.
The amendment calls for England’s Secretary of State to publish proposals for a £5 airport drop-off cap. Data shows the average fee across the 27 airports that currently impose charges stands at £6.70. London’s Gatwick and Stansted airports have both hiked their charges by more than 40pc to £10 this year, becoming the most expensive airports for drop-offs.
Major hubs within the European Union including Frankfurt, Paris CDG, Munich and Rome all provide free drop-off zones. The Department for Transport highlighted that most airports in England are managed and operated as private businesses. A recent passenger survey by the Civil Aviation Authority shows that public transport now accounts for 38pc of journeys to airports in England, up five percentage points on pre-pandemic 2019.
