Airport drop-off fees up by a third - here are the priciest

Drop-off fees at the UK's major airports have risen by a third on average since last summer, new analysis has found.

The RAC looked at the cost of pulling up at the closest point to terminals at the 20 busiest airports - 16 had put up their fees since last year.

Trade body Airports UK said free drop-offs were available and fees were part of airports' business models and climate change objectives.

London Gatwick's is the highest "farewell fee", charging £10 for 10 minutes on the forecourt outside either of its terminals. At Stansted, £10 buys a more generous 15 minutes, at "Express Set Down" outside departures.

London City Airport, which only started making people pay this year, is the most expensive on a per-minute basis. Its £8 charge for five minutes works out at £1.60 per minute.

In contrast, none of the top 10 airports in the EU charge for drop-offs, according to RAC research.

The RAC acknowledged UK airports generally offered other options for dropping people off at locations further from the terminal, sometimes with free shuttle buses.

But the motoring organisation's senior policy officer Rod Dennis said "having a captive audience should be no excuse for these 'farewell fees' – especially when they're completely at odds with how major airports around the world operate."

He said drivers needed to be especially careful of barrierless 'park now, pay later' drop-off zones, as they could face a parking charge notice if they failed to pay online or by phone within a certain period of time.

Gatwick's price hike comes as the airport tries to get more people arriving by trains and buses.

When the Transport Secretary approved the airport's plans for a second runway, one of the requirements was to have 54% of passengers using public transport.

Heathrow may also have to act to try and put people off driving to get a third runway.