On this page (4 sections)
The charge and how it works
The forecourt charge is £10 for up to 10 minutes, then £1 for each further minute, up to a maximum of £30 and a maximum stay of 30 minutes. It applies at both the North Terminal and the South Terminal forecourts, the drop-off areas right outside departures, and the rate is identical at each. There is no cheaper short window: the £10 is a flat minimum the moment you pull in, whether you take 30 seconds or the full 10 minutes.
Enforcement is automatic and barrier-free. Number-plate cameras log your vehicle entering and leaving, work out how long you stayed, and calculate the charge. Nothing stops you at the kerb and there is no ticket machine to find; you simply drop your passenger and drive off, then settle up afterwards. The charge was introduced at £5 in March 2021, rose to £7 during 2025, and reached its current £10 on 6 January 2026, so older figures you may remember are out of date.
Where the drop-off zones are
Each terminal has its own forecourt drop-off zone directly outside the departures entrance, reached by following the drop-off signs as you approach from the M23 Junction 9 spur. Set the sat nav to your terminal's postcode, RH6 0PJ for the North Terminal or RH6 0NP for the South Terminal, and the Gatwick postcode and address guide lists the car park codes too. Park on the side your passenger is flying from, which means the North Terminal for easyJet, Emirates and most long-haul leisure carriers, and the South Terminal for British Airways and the majority of low-cost airlines. The two forecourts are on opposite sides of the airfield, so arriving at the wrong one means a drive round rather than a quick hop.
The zones are for setting down, not waiting. You cannot leave the vehicle unattended, and the 30-minute cap means the forecourt never works as a holding area for a late runner. If your passenger is not ready to be dropped the moment you arrive, the free long stay option below is the answer, not a second lap of the forecourt.
How to pay, and by when
You pay after the visit, not at the forecourt. There are three routes: online through the airport\'s drop-off payment page, by the automated phone line on 0330 174 4503, or automatically through a registered AutoPay account that bills the card on file. Whichever you use, the deadline is midnight on the day after your visit.
Miss that deadline and the operator, NCP working with Times24, issues a Parking Charge Notice that costs far more than the £10 you owed. Because the cameras catch every plate, there is no informal way round the charge, so the only sensible move is to pay it promptly. Blue badge holders are exempt, but the exemption is arranged with the airport rather than applied automatically, so sort it out before you travel rather than assuming the cameras will know.
The free alternative
The forecourt is not the only way to drop someone, and for anything but a genuinely quick goodbye it is rarely the cheapest. The long stay car parks are free for the first two hours at both terminals, with a free shuttle bus to the door every 10 to 12 minutes. Drive in, take a ticket at the barrier, park, ride the bus to the terminal, and drive out within two hours at no cost at all. It adds roughly 20 minutes each way over a kerbside drop, but it turns a £10 charge into nothing and gives you time to help with bags or see someone off properly.
Between the two sits short stay parking, a four-minute covered walk from the terminal at £8 for 30 minutes, which suits a drop that needs a few unhurried minutes indoors without the full long stay bus ride; the Gatwick parking guide compares every option if you are weighing a longer stay. The same logic runs in reverse when you are collecting an arrival: the forecourt charges the same way, so the free long stay window is usually the better plan there too. Once your passenger is inside, their flight shows on the departures board with its terminal and gate.