Pay a UK airport drop-off charge by midnight the next day

Where do I pay at the airport?

Nowhere. Every one of these drop-off areas is barrierless, a camera reads the number plate on the way in, and the money is settled later. Heathrow says outright that there is nowhere to pay at the terminal, and Gatwick says the same. Stansted takes no cash and allows no advance payment, Manchester takes no cash either, and Luton's zone is cashless and barrier-free.

What you can still get right at the kerb is the time. Stansted and Manchester keep traffic marshals on the forecourt, and Luton enforces its 30 minute limit with mobile CCTV cameras.

By when do I have to pay, and how?

By midnight on the day after the visit, at all of them. Every airport takes payment online. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester also take it by phone and run an auto-pay account that bills a card on file. Luton is online only.

Heathrow

Card only, online, by automated phone line (0330 008 5600) or by autopay, in advance or by midnight on the day after the visit. There is nowhere to pay at the terminal.

Gatwick

Online, by automated phone line (0330 174 4503) or by AutoPay, by midnight on the day after the visit. No barriers and nowhere to pay on site.

Stansted

Online or by phone (03450 175046) only, after the visit and by midnight on the following day, or by AutoPay. No cash, no machines, no advance payment.

Luton

Online only, up to midnight on the following day. Cashless and barrier-free.

Manchester

Online (pay.manchesterairport.co.uk), by phone (03459 013318) or AutoPay, after the visit and by midnight on the following day. No cash, no barriers.

What happens if I do not pay?

A parking charge follows. At a UK airport this is a private charge from the car park operator, not a police fine. Each airport cuts the amount for prompt payment, and each of them uses the same window of 14 days.

Heathrow

£80, reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days. Heathrow does not name the company that issues the charge. It sends payment, refund and complaint questions to APCOA.

Gatwick

£100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. Issued by Times24 UK Limited.

Stansted

£100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. Issued by APCOA.

Luton

£95, reduced to £55 if paid within 14 days. Luton calls this an enforcement charge and does not name the company that issues it. It sends payment questions to APCOA.

Manchester

£100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. Issued by APCOA.

Manchester applies the same charge to a driver who tries to collect a passenger in a Drop Off zone, so an unpaid drop-off is not the only way to earn one.

Does a Blue Badge change what I pay?

Only where the airport publishes a concession, and these five do not agree. Manchester lets Blue Badge holders drop off free by showing the badge to the marshals, and Gatwick exempts them when the vehicle has been registered beforehand. Heathrow asks Blue Badge holders to apply for a discount, and gives buses, coaches and two-wheeled motorbikes an automatic 100% discount.

The other two publish no concession at the kerb. Stansted charges Blue Badge holders like everybody else and asks anyone who needs more than 15 minutes to speak to a traffic marshal. Luton publishes none for its shared Drop Off and Pick Up Zone, although Blue Badge holders and passengers with booked assistance get 30 minutes free in Terminal Car Park 1.

A charge notice has arrived, what now?

The notice carries both the deadline and the name you need: an appeal goes to the company named on it as the issuer.

Terminal Rules is not the airport and cannot cancel or appeal a charge for you. This is information, not legal advice.