Gatwick plots higher parking fees to secure second runway

Telegraph

26-04-2025

Gatwick bosses have put forward plans to raise car drop-off and parking charges in an effort to secure approval for a second runway.
The airport has outlined the proposals as part of a submission to the Planning Inspectorate, which earlier this year said Gatwick must ensure that at least 54pc of travellers use public transport to get there if it wants to see unrestricted flights from a second landing strip.
Stewart Wingate, the airport's chief executive, said that since it has no control over trains, the main way it could stop people arriving by car was to raise fees.
He said: 'We'd be trying to influence people who were making that marginal decision of 'should I drive and drop off or use the car parks, or should I use the rail services?'
'The forecourt drop-off charge is the mechanism we can use. We could start to increase that drop-off charge. If we adjust that upwards we would also make changes to the car parking tariffs as well.'
Gatwick currently charges £6 for a drop-off to be completed within 10 minutes, payable by taxis as well as private cars. Every further minute costs an extra £1 up to a maximum of 30 minutes for a total of £26.
The headline fee increased from £5 at the start of 2024, a move that sparked outrage at the time. Drivers on social media branded the increase a 'rip-off' and 'absolute joke'.
Heathrow raised its drop-off fee to £6 in January while Stansted charges £7, so any rise would most likely make Gatwick the city's most expensive airport for drivers.
Mr Wingate said higher charges for cars would be introduced as a last resort if an insufficient number of people used the train and did not specify how big the increase might be.
Proposals to raise the charges come after Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, failed to approve Gatwick's runway plans in an initial ruling on Feb 27.
The airport is seeking approval to bring a second emergency runway into everyday use, with the £2.5bn project set to add 100,000 flights a year, almost doubling capacity to 75m passengers.
While indicating that she was minded to back the scheme, Ms Alexander said the airport should take account of changes proposed by the Planning Inspectorate. Officials are concerned that waving through the plans could lead to more congestion on the already busy roads around Gatwick.
A government source said the submission from Gatwick represented 'encouraging progress.'
Gatwick said it would initially engage with train and coach operators, the Department for Transport and Network Rail on more direct efforts to lift the proportion of people using public transport beyond the current level of 45pc.
Mr Wingate said: 'We're trying to give the Government a pragmatic, sensible and rational pathway which achieves the objective of reduced road congestion and allows them to support the runway.'
Gatwick, owned by French construction giant Vinci, had until Friday to submit a formal response to the blueprint proposed by the Planning Inspectorate.
The airport said it would also accept a reduction in the expanded airport's noise footprint from 135 sq km to 125 sq km, while seeking the disclosure of evidence supporting the tighter restrictions, which it warned could limit the use of some larger aircraft.
While a consultation must be launched to allow all parties to respond, a government source said a final decision on the runway plan will be reached as soon as possible ahead of an October deadline.