Edinburgh Airport has increased its fee for drivers dropping off or picking up passengers to £8.50, marking a 42 per cent rise from the previous £6 charge. This makes it one of the most expensive drop-off fees in the United Kingdom, alongside Bristol Airport and behind only London Gatwick and London Stansted, which charge £10.
For electric vehicle owners, the increase is even steeper at 183 per cent, as the previous half-price concession has been eliminated. The airport's management attributes the hike to an additional £8 million business rates bill recently imposed on the terminal, which they describe as the largest increase in costs faced by any UK airport.
The free drop-off and pick-up area, where passengers can park for up to 30 minutes without charge, will remain operational, and additional spaces are being added. Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, expressed frustration over the situation, stating: "This decision to impose an unplanned and wholly disproportionate £8 million rates increase has an immediate and negative impact on our business."
Dewar elaborated that the 142 per cent rise in business rates reduces the airport's ability to invest, grow, and compete, equating to the cost of funding around 200 jobs, two aircraft stands, or five new security lanes. He emphasised that the cost cannot be absorbed and must be covered, leading to unavoidable trade-offs like the fee increase. "We had not planned to raise fees this year, but like many across the hospitality and tourism sectors who have seen business rates soar, we have no choice but to pass part of this cost on to passengers," he added.
Edinburgh Airport is served by a tram, but the fare from the city centre to the airport station has also increased significantly, leaping from £2.40 to £7.90. Drop-off fees were first introduced following an attempted attack on Glasgow Airport in June 2007, when two terrorists tried to drive a Jeep laden with propane gas cylinders and petrol cans through the terminal doors. In response, airport forecourts across the UK were quickly reconfigured to prevent similar incidents, and Birmingham Airport pioneered the charging model to defray costs, a practice that soon became widespread.
Currently, the most expensive airports for drop-off fees are Gatwick and Stansted at £10, followed by Edinburgh and Bristol at £8.50, and London City and Southend at £8. Most other major UK airports charge £7.
