Heathrow Drop-Off Charge 2026: £7 a Visit, How to Pay and How to Avoid It

What is the Heathrow drop-off charge and how much is it?

The figure and the rules above come from Heathrow's own Terminal Drop-Off Charge page, which is where you should check the amount on the day you travel. The number can change, so the page is the authority.

The charge is for the vehicle, not the passenger. A friend who drops you at Terminal 5 pays it, a hotel shuttle that is not exempt pays it, and a private hire car that stops on the forecourt can trigger it. Walking in from a car park avoids it, and so does using one of the free alternatives below.

For the whole picture of getting to and from the airport in a car, Heathrow's own by-car page puts the drop-off, pick-up and Park & Ride options in one place. This post goes further on the rules and the costs, and on what happens if you forget.

What counts as a visit?

The charge applies each time a vehicle enters a terminal drop-off area. Heathrow's wording is that each re-entry is charged again, so a driver who leaves the forecourt and comes back pays twice. That matters on a busy morning when a driver circles to wait for a passenger who is still in the toilets.

The drop-off zones are at Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5. Pick-ups are not permitted in drop-off zones, and waiting on the departures forecourt is not allowed. In short:

• Entering the zone to unload counts as a visit.
• Stopping to load a passenger in the zone is not allowed, and does not remove the charge.
• Leaving and re-entering counts as a second visit.
• Dropping at a Park & Ride car park, with a bus to the terminal, avoids the zone entirely.

How to pay, and by when

Heathrow accepts payment online, by phone on 0330 008 5600 or through autopay. Cash and cheques are not accepted, and you cannot pay at airport ticket machines or in the drop-off zones themselves.

If you pay after using the zone, payment is due by midnight the next day. If you pay in advance, a prepaid drop-off expires 12 months after purchase, which is useful for a driver who ferries a family member to the airport a few times a year.

A tip for anyone organising a drop-off for someone else: pay it the moment you pull away, on your phone, before you forget. People who plan to pay "tomorrow" often forget by tomorrow.

What happens if you forget to pay?

Non-payment leads to an £80 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days. That means a £7 trip can turn into a £40 or £80 one because of a missed payment.

If you receive a notice, read it carefully and pay inside the 14-day window to take the lower amount. If you believe it was issued wrongly, use the process printed on the notice.

Paying the charge on your phone as you leave the zone is the habit worth building.

Who is exempt or discounted?

Heathrow applies some exemptions and discounts automatically. According to its page:

• Exempt: emergency service vehicles and military vehicles.
• 100 percent discount: roadside recovery vehicles, two-wheeled motorbikes, buses or coaches (subject to height restrictions) and Heathrow Valet Parking bookings.
• No exemption: electric vehicles get no discount.
• Blue Badge holders: valid UK or EEA badge holders get a 100 percent discount, including when they are not driving, applied to the vehicle that drops them off. They must set up a Blue Badge account, and Heathrow says to apply at least seven days before the visit. Applications by phone need 14 days.

If you or your passenger need the Blue Badge discount, do it well before travel, not on the way to the airport.

How to avoid the charge: the free alternatives

Heathrow's page lists free drop-off at the Park & Ride car parks, with a free bus transfer to the terminal. On the by-car page, Terminals 2, 3 and 5 offer 29 minutes free in Park & Ride, while Terminal 4 offers up to two hours free but only in Park & Ride Zone A.

So the honest answer to "is there free parking at Heathrow for two hours" is: at Terminal 4, in Zone A, yes. At Terminals 2, 3 and 5 the free allowance is 29 minutes, and after that the Park & Ride tariff applies. Once you exit Park & Ride you cannot re-enter it for 24 hours, and Heathrow says private hire and trade vehicles cannot use the Park & Ride facility at all.

The trade-off is time. You drop at the car park, ride the bus, and carry bags from the bus stop to the terminal. For one carry-on and a morning flight it is perfectly good. With a stroller and three large cases, the £7 is the cheaper kind of convenience.

What a pick-up costs at Heathrow

Pick-ups are the more expensive side. Heathrow does not allow them from the departures forecourt. The options, with the tariffs Heathrow published at the time of writing, are these.

Terminal 4 deserves its own paragraph. Heathrow says passengers cannot be picked up from the Terminal 4 forecourts. The Priority Pick-Up area, which Heathrow opened from 23 June 2026 on the Salisbury Road side, is card-only, payable online, by automated phone line or by autopay, with the same £80 notice (reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days) for non-payment. Blue Badge discounts do not apply there. Heathrow also says the Terminal 4 multi-storey car park closed from the same date as part of a redevelopment programme.

The sensible way to pick up a passenger at Heathrow is to ask them to walk to the car park rather than to the kerb.

Which terminal will you be at?

The drop-off is by terminal, so you need the right one. Heathrow's terminal pages describe Terminal 5 as British Airways' main hub, Terminal 3 as the Virgin Atlantic hub with more than 20 other airlines, and Terminal 2 as the Queen's Terminal. Other airlines are spread across the four terminals, and some have moved over time.

Do not guess from a website list. The booking confirmation shows the terminal, and the live flight board at Heathrow shows it on the day. If you have any doubt, use the flight number on the airport's site. A driver who is told "Terminal 5" for a Terminal 3 flight will pay the charge in the wrong building and then pay again.

Taxis, private hire and chauffeurs: how they work at Heathrow

Heathrow says private hire vehicles wait in the Authorised Vehicle Area before pick-up. It does not publish a separate charge for taxis or private hire vehicles on that page, so check the terminal pages or ask the operator what is included.

For a pre-booked chauffeur, the practical difference is that someone else deals with the forecourt. The driver tracks your flight, waits for your bags and you, and meets you inside the arrivals hall if you ask for a name board. The booker shows the fixed all-in fare before you pay, so there is no separate drop-off bill to chase afterwards.

Our Heathrow airport transfers page explains the arrival service in more detail, and our airport meet-and-greet service adds assistance inside the terminal. For a hotel run, the Heathrow to central London page covers the road, and the Heathrow to Gatwick page covers the airport-to-airport leg.

Heathrow to central London: your options

Heathrow is about 27 km (17 mi) by road from Charing Cross in central London (OSRM). Journey times are below, and peak hours on the M4 and A4 can lengthen the road options.

The train is the better choice when you travel light, arrive in the daytime and your hotel is near a station. The private car wins with several bags, with children, on a late arrival and for a hotel far from a rail line. Our post comparing Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth line goes further on the rail options.

Check your fixed fare

Mistakes people make with the drop-off charge

1. Paying twice by accident. A driver who loops back into the zone is charged again.
2. Assuming the charge only applies at peak hours. It applies 24 hours a day.
3. Waiting in the drop-off zone. Waiting is not allowed, and pick-ups are not permitted there.
4. Forgetting to pay and being surprised by the £80. Pay on your phone before you leave the airport roads.
5. Applying for the Blue Badge discount late. Heathrow says to apply at least seven days before.
6. Using an old price from a forum. Check the current amount on Heathrow's page.

If you are travelling to Heathrow from elsewhere in Europe, our Europe hub lists the airports and ports we cover. For travellers passing through, our post on Heathrow fast track and VIP services covers the airside options, and for those arriving by Eurostar into London, the King's Cross and St Pancras rail transfers page covers the station side.

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