Glasgow Airport: Pick up and drop off charges hiked again with passengers slamming increase as 'scandalous profiteering'

Passengers that use Glasgow Airport will see the charges for its drop-off and pick up area increase. The charge for the express area will now cost people £5.50 for 15 minutes, 50p up from the previous cost which was raised to £5 from £4 this time last year.

For anyone that stays longer than the 15-minute allocated time, they will be charged £1 for every minute they go over their time. A short stay (60 minutes) will cost £15. The charge increase came into effect on 14 February.

The increase has been met with backlash on social media. One user posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying that the price increase is “scandalous profiteering”, adding “used to be free and should still be free”. Another user said: “What is it customers are actually paying for? It costs the airport nothing for someone to drive through and drop off/pick up passengers, so why are they charging people for it? It’s daylight robbery.”

One user commented on how much the price has increased over the years. Gary Kernahan wrote on X: “£2 drop off charge introduced in 2017, doubled to £4 in 2020, increased to £5 in 2023 and now £5.50. That’s some increase!”.

A Glasgow Airport spokesperson said: “As part of an annual review, the Pick-Up and Drop-Off tariff has been increased by 50p to £5.50 for 15 minutes from today (Wednesday 14 February). We would remind passengers that this facility is designed purely for pick-up and drop-off transactions under 15 minutes. Anyone planning to stay longer should use one of our short-stay parking options. The free option in our Long-Stay Car Park has also been increased from 30 minutes to one hour and is serviced by an on-demand 24-hour shuttle service.” 

The UK Airport Cost of Parking Index recently revealed the most expensive car parks in the UK. The new data was published after travel experts at FlightsFinder.com analysed the 15 busiest airports in the UK to find out who charges their customers high prices and which have kept their costs low.

Heathrow Airport was found to be the most expensive in the UK to park a car for a week - setting customers back £123 per vehicle. It is the only airport to charge travellers over £100. The second most expensive was East Midlands Airport at £81.39 for seven days.