Airport Drop-off Charges

Adam Jogee Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Yasmin Qureshi]

I thank my fellow Greater Manchester Member of Parliament for raising that issue. I will come on to the similar experiences that my constituents have had.

I was talking about barrierless systems for drop-offs. I believe that airports should publish data on the number of drop-off penalties that are issued, how many are cancelled on appeal and the reasons why. The Government’s position is that although airport parking charges are

“a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business”,

the Department for Transport

“expects car parking at airports to be managed appropriately and…consumers to be treated fairly”.

Too many passengers feel that that expectation is not being met.

I want to speak directly about the human element, because that is where my office’s casework has been the most compelling. The stories that we have been told follow a very clear pattern: people acting in good faith, anxious to get loved ones to the airport on time and unaware that payment cannot be made on site, and then being shocked to receive a penalty notice days later when they believe that they have done everything right. The stress and frustrations are real, but they are avoidable.

One constituent contacted me after dropping his wife at Manchester airport and leaving after noticing that there were no barriers or pay stations. He then received a £100 fine in the post for not having paid. He was stationary in the drop-off area for just one minute and 10 seconds. If there had been a pay station, he would have paid. Instead, he went home and then received what he felt was an entirely disproportionate fine for being there for less than two minutes.

Another constituent contacted me after he tried to pay online in good faith but was unable to do so because of problems with the website. He did not see the signage and was made aware only after the fact that he needed to pay. Despite trying to pay the £6.40 charge, he was unable to do so and received a £100 fine instead. That does not feel fair or reasonable.

These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a system that relies too heavily on people remembering to make an online payment after their journey, rather than being clearly prompted to pay at the time. A short free window in which to park, clear exit prompts and a one-time reminder invoice would entirely prevent many of these cases.

Airports are the front door to our country. That front door should be welcoming, efficient and fair. It should not depend on whether a tired or stressed driver remembers to make an online payment later that day. It should reflect the reality of places such as Bolton, where rail can be a good option but is not always practical.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I should declare an interest, because Manchester airport is my local airport and is used by many of my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme. In fact, I was there on Sunday: my poor wife had to wait because the flight from Northern Ireland was delayed. The first thing she said to me was not “Hi, love,” but “Don’t forget to pay.” That speaks to the impact that these charges have on marital harmony.

To be serious, this unfairness speaks to a lack of consistency across the United Kingdom. More importantly, it makes the case for a direct line between Stoke-on-Trent station and Manchester airport, which would benefit my constituents. I hope that my hon. Friend will support my calls.

[Yasmin Qureshi]

I am so sad that my hon. Friend’s wife was not able to say “I love you” at the point of greeting him. I hope she has made up for it.

[Adam Jogee]

On a point of order, Ms Vaz. In the interests of getting home safely, I should say that my wife quite often says “I love you,” and I am very grateful to her for doing so.

[Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)]

Point taken.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

As always, Ms Vaz, it is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi) for leading today’s debate on this matter. It is an important issue, as others have said and will say after me.

Back home, this has been a topic of conversation with my constituents. Air travel has become much more usable and cheaper than it has been in the past, but that means that many people travel through Belfast City airport, Belfast International airport and City of Derry airport—they are all used. I have heard numerous complaints from constituents about changes to pick-ups and drop-offs at airports in Northern Ireland, so it is important for me to be here and to get our perspective across.

I share other Members’ concerns about drop-off charges. They seem a little drastic and unfair, and many people have complaints about them. The traffic wardens in Newtownards are very zealous—even evangelical—and they get their money. We get complaints about parking tickets on private land, and by and large we have been able to fight them, but people cannot fight the CCTV at Belfast City airport or Belfast International airport.

I fly out of Belfast City airport on Mondays to come here, and I go back on Thursdays. It is a great airport and has had some recent updates; it covers mostly regional flights, but some are international. According to my constituents, the drop-off area has a minimum price of £4 for up to 10 minutes. It used to be that there was no charge at all. Is it a revenue earner for the airport? I suspect it is, but the staff may tell me differently. If people stay longer, the charges increase as follows: it is £6 for 10 to 20 minutes, £20 for 21 to 30 minutes, and £25 for 30 to 60 minutes. If people’s planes are delayed, they had better not forget their cards, because they will be digging deep that night.

Similarly, at Belfast International airport, it costs up to £3 for 10 minutes. If someone’s car stalls on the way round, they are in trouble, because the price will increase. Airports have CCTV everywhere, and people cannot get away with dropping somebody off, because the airport has them on CCTV. They can expect a £60 fine. If someone thinks they can do it the sharp way—perhaps the car is still moving as they jump out—it does not matter, because they will be fined

One thing that annoys me greatly at the airport is flight delays and cancellations. What happens to the person who thinks, “I’m just going to pick them up,” and then looks at the screen and says, “Oh, it’s 15 minutes late”? Guess what? They owe more money.

[Adam Jogee]

Further to the hon. Gentleman’s description of the situation at Belfast City airport, I found out on Sunday, when my mother-in-law dropped me off from the long-stay car park, that it is free for the first 10 minutes. The point that my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) made about accessibility is important, because the long-stay car park is further away and there is no canopy. We all know about the liquid sunshine for which Ulster is well known. [Interruption.] Liquid sunshine, not rain. If someone is not as able-bodied as others, or if they have children, bags and all the rest, it is more difficult for them to get into the terminal. The accessibility point extends not just to the east midlands, but right across the United Kingdom.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Member for sharing his experiences of Belfast City. It is a good airport, by the way. I am just saying, “Follow the rules, and make sure the timings are right.” The planes are sometimes cancelled, and more often than not they are delayed, which seems to be a fact of life now. Some may say that the clue is in the name: “drop-off”. The plan is not to be there for long, but we all know that it takes a little time for people to get their cases, say goodbye to loved ones or pay taxis. It has been argued that the first 10 minutes should be free, which is fair. If drop-offs and pick-ups are made financially inaccessible for people, they will double-park and potentially cause congestion, which poses a safety risk.

One thing that strikes me is that Belfast international airport has a 15-minute free drop-off in the long-stay car park. It is only a short walk to the terminal, but it does not suit everybody. There is £3 to £5 fee for less than 10 minutes. There is certainly a case for the fees to be regulated, and I look forward to the Minister’s response. Sometimes we can use compassion and understand that it is not always easy for someone to drop people off and get on their way. To give an example, one of my constituents moved to Scotland for university when she was 18. She has been living there for nine years now and is working as a nurse. It is always lovely when she comes home, but saying goodbye is the hardest. She tells me that she wants to say goodbye—she wants to give people a hug and a kiss, and to say cheerio—but guess what? The clock is ticking, and that long goodbye could be a very costly one.