Airport parking guide

Parking at Gatwick

What it costs to drop someone off, what the car parks charge, what catches people out and who issues a ticket and how to appeal at Gatwick.

LGWWest SussexReviewed 9 September 2026

Gatwick charges £10 for the first ten minutes in the drop-off zone and £1 for each minute after that, up to a thirty-minute maximum and a £30 cap in any one day. North and South Terminal cost the same. Payment is due by midnight the day after you use the zone. The free alternative is the Long Stay car parks, free for the first two hours with a shuttle bus to the terminals — which is also where you should wait for a delayed arrival, since the drop-off zones may not be used for pick-ups and the express pick-up bays are charged at the Short Stay roll-up rate instead.

LGW West Sussex England Gatwick Airport Limited

£10–£30Drop-off
30 minutesMaximum stay
NoneFree period
3Car parks

Dropping someone off at Gatwick

Dropping off at the terminal costs £10 to £30.

How long you stayWhat it costs
Up to 10 minutes £10
Up to 20 minutes £20 £10 plus £1 for each minute from 11 to 20. The airport publishes the per-minute rate rather than this total — the arithmetic is ours.
Maximum in any one day £30

The same price applies at every terminal.

Minutes 11 to 20 are £1 each, there is a £30 maximum in any one day, and the maximum stay is thirty minutes. The same charge applies at North and South Terminal. Payment is due by midnight the day after you use the zone; miss that and a parking charge notice is issued. Blue Badge holders are exempt from the drop-off charge.

Free alternative: The Long Stay car parks are free for the first two hours, with a free shuttle bus to the terminals. Blue Badge holders are exempt from the drop-off charge altogether and can register their vehicle through Times24.

The airport's own drop-off page →

Picking someone up

No free period here.

Pick-up is charged at the Short Stay roll-up rate rather than at the drop-off rate — see the car park table. The express pick-up bays are at Car Park 6 Level 4 in the North Terminal and Car Park 3 Ground Floor in the South Terminal. The two are not interchangeable in either direction: the drop-off zones may not be used for pick-ups, and Gatwick states the express pick-up areas should not be used for dropping off.

Car parks at Gatwick

Car park Type Walk Prices
Long Stay — North and South Terminal
Free for two hours with a free shuttle — the cheapest way to wait for an arrival, and the free alternative to the drop-off charge. Note that it is a cliff, not a taper: at two hours and one minute the charge is £38. 		Long stay Shuttle bus 0 to 2 hours: Free
2 to 24 hours: £38
Each subsequent day: £32
Short Stay — North and South Terminal
The roll-up rate for turning up without booking. Express pick-up bays sit inside these car parks and are charged at this rate. 		Short stay 5 min Up to 30 minutes: £8
31 to 60 minutes: £14
1 to 2 hours: £18
2 to 3 hours: £21.50
3 to 4 hours: £26
4 to 5 hours: £31.50
5 to 6 hours: £40.50
6 to 12 hours: £60
12 to 24 hours: £70
Each subsequent day: £70
Premium Short Stay — North and South Terminal
Closer to the terminal, and about half as much again as Short Stay at every step. 		Premium 3 min Up to 30 minutes: £12
31 to 60 minutes: £19
1 to 2 hours: £22
2 to 3 hours: £26
3 to 4 hours: £33
4 to 5 hours: £41
5 to 6 hours: £56
6 to 12 hours: £74.50
12 to 24 hours: £87.50
Each subsequent day: £87.50

What catches people out at Gatwick

  • The two free hours end in a cliff, not a taper — Long Stay is free for the first two hours. At two hours and one minute the price is £38 for the whole visit — there is no intermediate step. A delayed arrival turns a free wait into thirty-eight pounds. source
  • The £10 buys ten minutes, then the meter runs — Minutes eleven to twenty cost £1 each, so an eighteen-minute stop is £18, not £10. Beyond that there is a thirty-minute maximum stay and a £30 daily cap. source
  • Drop-off and pick-up zones are not interchangeable — The drop-off zones may not be used to collect anyone, and Gatwick states that the express pick-up areas should not be used for dropping off. Using the wrong one is not a matter of paying the other price. source
  • You cannot find out the appeal route until the notice arrives — Gatwick names Times24 as the company that administers the drop-off service, takes payment of a parking charge and receives appeals. What it never names is the trade body — and that is the thing that decides whether a rejected appeal goes to POPLA or to the IAS. You can start an appeal without knowing it, but you cannot find out where it ends until the notice tells you. source
  • Appealing costs you the discount — Where the operator is a British Parking Association member, POPLA states that an appeal does not require the operator to preserve or extend the reduced rate, and that an appeal takes six to eight weeks — past any fourteen-day discount window. source

If you get a ticket at Gatwick

Gatwick is private land. A notice issued here is a parking charge notice — a claim under the contract you accept by parking, not a fine issued by a council. Nobody at the airport has the power to fine you.

Because this is not a council notice, an appeal does not go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which hears council penalty charge notices in England outside London, and Wales.

Enforcement is carried out by Times24 on behalf of Gatwick Airport Limited.

Gatwick names the operator, Times24, and sends both payment and appeals there. What it does not publish anywhere is the trade body, and the trade body is what decides whether a rejected appeal goes on to POPLA or to the IAS — so that step cannot be stated in advance. The notice itself will name the appeals route; read it there, and start with Times24 either way.

How a private parking charge works, and when the keeper can be pursued →

Appealing a private parking charge, step by step →

NoticeChargeIf paid early
Parking charge notice — unpaid drop-off charge
Gatwick does not publish the amount, the discounted amount or the discount window. What it publishes is the deadline: pay by midnight the day after you use the drop-off zone, or a notice is issued. The figures are on the notice. 		Not published Not confirmed
Red route enforcement charge
A separate charge from the drop-off one. Gatwick states that vehicles recorded stopping, loading or unloading on its red routes may be subject to an enforcement charge, without publishing the amount. 		Not published Not confirmed

Nearby

Common questions

How much is it to drop someone at Gatwick?
£10 for the first ten minutes, then £1 for each further minute up to twenty. The maximum stay is thirty minutes and the most you can be charged in a day is £30. It is the same at North and South Terminal.
Is the drop-off charge different at North Terminal?
No. The same charge applies at both terminals. What differs between them is where the express pick-up bays are: Car Park 6, Level 4 at North, and Car Park 3, Ground Floor at South.
How do I avoid the drop-off charge?
Use a Long Stay car park. The first two hours are free and there is a free shuttle bus to the terminals. Blue Badge holders are exempt from the drop-off charge itself. Be careful with the two hours though — see the next answer.
What happens if I stay just over two hours in Long Stay?
You pay £38 for the visit. The free period is a cliff rather than a taper: there is no two-to-three-hour step between free and £38. If a flight is delayed and you are waiting, that is the single most expensive ten minutes at the airport.
What does it cost to wait in Short Stay instead?
£8 for up to half an hour, £14 for up to an hour and £18 for up to two — so for a wait of any length, Long Stay's free two hours plus the shuttle is cheaper. Premium Short Stay is closer to the terminal and about half as much again at every step: £12, £19 and £22 for the same three periods.
What happens if I do not pay the drop-off charge?
You have until midnight the day after you used the zone. Miss that and a parking charge notice is issued. Gatwick does not publish the amount, the discounted amount or how long the discount lasts — those are on the notice.
Where do I appeal a Gatwick parking charge notice?
Not to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal — Gatwick is private land, so this is a private parking charge, not a council penalty charge notice. Beyond that we cannot tell you in advance: the appeals service depends on which trade body the operator belongs to, POPLA for the British Parking Association and the IAS for the International Parking Community, and Gatwick does not name its operator or its trade body publicly. Both are on the notice.

Sources

Figures last checked 9 September 2026