Quick answer: The Heathrow drop-off charge is £7 every time a vehicle enters the terminal drop-off area at Terminals 2, 3, 4 or 5 — up from £6 on 1 January 2026 — applying 24/7 to cars, taxis and private hire alike, paid afterwards via number-plate recognition. The Park & Ride car parks offer 30 minutes free with a shuttle. A Rushxo fixed fare to or from Heathrow has the charge handled.
Charges checked against Heathrow’s official pages on 6 September 2026. Airports change these fees, usually in January or March — the sources are listed at the end so you can re-check before you travel.
Quick answer
Drop-off cost: £7 every time a vehicle enters the terminal drop-off area at Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 (up from £6 on 1 January 2026). Drop-off only — no waiting, no pick-ups on the forecourt.
How to pay: No barriers: cameras read your plate. Pay online through Heathrow’s official portal or on 0330 008 5600 by midnight the next day, or set up AutoPay. Unpaid: £80 Parking Charge, £40 if paid within 14 days.
Free option: Park & Ride car parks are free for up to 30 minutes, with a free bus every 15 minutes (7–20 minutes to the terminal depending on terminal).
Pick-up: Use Terminal Parking (short stay): £8 up to 30 minutes, £12.50 for 30–44 minutes, £20 for 1–2 hours. Or Park & Ride, free for 30 minutes.
Booked transfer: With a Rushxo fixed fare the driver takes you to the terminal door and the £7 is dealt with — nothing to pay at the airport.
Heathrow introduced its Terminal Drop-Off Charge in November 2021 and every terminal forecourt has been chargeable since. It catches out more people than any other airport fee in the UK because there is no barrier and no sign of a charge having been made: you drive off and a bill follows. This page explains the Heathrow drop-off charge as it stands in 2026, how and when to pay it, what the penalty is, where you can drop off for free, and what it costs to pick someone up.
The charge is £7 per entry into the drop-off area at any of the four terminals. Heathrow raised it from £6 to £7 on 1 January 2026. It applies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to cars, vans, taxis and private-hire vehicles alike.
| Where | Charge | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 2 forecourt (drop-off area) | £7 per visit | Drop-off only; the T2 and T3 forecourts share the central terminal area roads |
| Terminal 3 forecourt | £7 per visit | Drop-off only |
| Terminal 4 forecourt | £7 per visit | Drop-off only |
| Terminal 5 forecourt (departures level) | £7 per visit | Drop-off only; T5 has the largest forecourt and the quickest Park & Ride transfer (7–10 min) |
| Park & Ride / Long Stay car parks | Free for up to 30 minutes | Then from £9.40 for 30 minutes to 1 hour 59 |
| Terminal Parking (short stay) car parks | From £8 (up to 30 min) | For pick-ups and for walking passengers into the terminal |
Two things make Heathrow different from Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. First, the fee is flat: there is no cheaper short band and no per-minute meter, so a 30-second stop costs the same £7 as ten minutes. Second, the forecourts are strictly drop-off only. Heathrow’s rule is that “pick-ups and waiting are not permitted in the terminal forecourt drop-off areas” — if you want to collect someone you must use a car park.
The drop-off areas are barrier-free and use automatic number-plate recognition. Nothing prompts you to pay on the day, so put a reminder in your phone before you set off.
Use Heathrow’s official Terminal Drop-Off Charge payment portal (linked from heathrow.com — the operator is APCOA). Enter your registration and pay by debit or credit card. Card only; cash and cheques are not accepted.
Call the automated line on 0330 008 5600, 24 hours a day.
Open a personal or business AutoPay account, register your vehicles and a card, and every visit is billed automatically. Essential for anyone who does school-run-style airport drops or runs a fleet.
Deadline: midnight on the day after you drop off. If you enter the forecourt on Monday you have until 23:59 on Tuesday. After that Heathrow issues an £80 Parking Charge, reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days. Hire and lease cars are billed via the hire company, which will add its own admin fee — pay online yourself the same day to avoid it.
Yes. Each terminal has a Park & Ride car park (the old Long Stay) where the first 30 minutes are free. A free shuttle bus runs to the terminal every 15 minutes between 04:00 and 23:30 — roughly 7–10 minutes to Terminal 5, 10–15 minutes to Terminal 4 and 10–20 minutes to Terminals 2 and 3. Outside those hours you can request a transfer by calling 020 8745 6261. Stay longer than 30 minutes and the tariff starts at £9.40 for 30 minutes to 1 hour 59, so keep it brisk. Blue Badge holders get the first 2 hours free in Park & Ride.
The trade-off is time. Allow 30–40 minutes from pulling into Park & Ride to standing in departures once you count the wait for the bus, the ride and the walk. On an early-morning long-haul with two suitcases each, most people decide £7 is cheap. For a quick teenager-with-a-backpack drop before a 10am flight, Park & Ride works well.
The other genuinely free options are the Elizabeth line, Piccadilly line and Heathrow Express stations inside the terminals — useful if you are seeing off someone who can travel in by train and you simply want to wave them off at the station.
You cannot pick up on the forecourt, so collecting a passenger means a car park:
Heathrow arrivals regularly take 45–75 minutes from touchdown to the kerb once immigration and baggage are counted, and the short-stay bands climb quickly. A pre-booked Rushxo pick-up costs the same whether the flight is early, on time or two hours late, because the driver tracks it and the fare is fixed.
| Option | Cost | Where you end up | Time limit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal drop-off area | £7 per entry | Terminal door | Drop and go — no waiting or pick-ups | Quick drop-off with luggage |
| Park & Ride (free) | Free up to 30 min; from £9.40 to 1 hr 59 | Free bus every 15 min, 7–20 min to terminal | 30 min free | Avoiding the fee when time allows |
| Terminal Parking (short stay) | £8 up to 30 min; £12.50 to 44 min; £20 for 1–2 hrs | Short walk to arrivals | Pay per band | Pick-ups, walking someone to check-in |
| Rushxo fixed-fare transfer | Fare fixed when you book — the drop-off charge is handled by your driver, nothing to pay at the airport | Terminal door | No time pressure — driver waits for you on pick-ups (flight-tracked) | Door-to-door, early flights, luggage, groups |
Yes. Heathrow states plainly that all black cabs and private-hire vehicles pay the £7 charge every time they enter a terminal drop-off zone. Black cabs typically add it as an extra and app-based services build it into the final price, so two quotes that look £7 apart may not be.
With Rushxo the fare quoted at booking is the fare you pay: your driver takes you to the terminal door and handles the charge, so there is nothing to register or pay at the airport. Rushxo is a TfL-licensed private-hire operator (licence 11588) with DBS-checked drivers, running 24/7 with flight-tracked pick-ups, an optional meet-and-greet with a name board in arrivals, and saloons, executive cars, MPVs and V Class (minibuses up to 16 for groups).
Fares as quoted by the Rushxo booking page on 6 September 2026 — one-way, per vehicle not per person, with the terminal drop-off charge handled. Exact addresses and weekend peak times can change the price; get your exact fixed fare here.
| From | Saloon | Executive | MPV | V Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central London | £135 | £161 | £161 | £187 |
| London City Airport | £82 | £105 | £109 | £143 |
| Gatwick Airport | £91 | £116 | £120 | £158 |
| Luton Airport | £104 | £132 | £137 | £180 |
| Stansted Airport | £142 | £181 | £188 | £226 |
Book both legs together and the return is 10% off two singles.
Terminal-door drop-off at any terminal, the £7 charge handled, flight-tracked pick-ups and a price that does not change.
It is £7 each time a vehicle enters the drop-off area at Terminal 2, 3, 4 or 5. The charge went up from £6 to £7 on 1 January 2026. It is a flat fee — there is no cheaper rate for a shorter stop.
Pay online through Heathrow’s official Terminal Drop-Off Charge portal, or by phone on 0330 008 5600, by midnight on the day after your visit. Card payments only. If you use the airport regularly, set up an AutoPay account so each visit is charged automatically.
Heathrow issues an £80 Parking Charge to the registered keeper, reduced to £40 if it is paid within 14 days. If you were driving a hire or lease car the company will be billed and will normally add an administration fee.
Yes. The Park & Ride car parks at each terminal are free for the first 30 minutes, with a free shuttle bus every 15 minutes taking 7–20 minutes to the terminal depending on which one. After 30 minutes the tariff starts at £9.40.
No. The terminal forecourts are drop-off only; waiting and pick-ups are not permitted and vehicles that stop can be issued a Parking Charge. Pick up from Terminal Parking (from £8 for 30 minutes) or Park & Ride (free for 30 minutes).
Terminal Parking charges £8 for up to 30 minutes, £12.50 for 30–44 minutes, £15.50 for 45–59 minutes, £20 for 1–2 hours and £24 for 2–3 hours. Take a ticket on entry and pay at the machines or the exit barrier.
No — Blue Badge holders get a 100% discount, but the badge has to be registered with Heathrow first (the airport’s drop-off page explains how). Blue Badge holders also get the first 2 hours free in Park & Ride.
Yes. Every black cab, minicab and private-hire vehicle pays £7 per entry, and most pass it on to the passenger. Rushxo fares are fixed at booking and the driver handles the charge, so there is nothing extra to pay.
Yes. It applies 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including Christmas Day.
No. Terminal 5 charges the same £7 per entry as the other terminals. The free alternative is the Terminal 5 Park & Ride, which has the quickest bus transfer on the airport at about 7–10 minutes.
Airport parking and forecourt tariffs are set by the airport operators and can change without notice; Rushxo is not affiliated with any airport. If you spot a change, tell us on WhatsApp and we will update this page.
Rushxo runs fixed-price transfers to events and venues, every major airport and cruise terminal, and towns and cities right across London and the South East. Every journey is a fixed price agreed before you book.
O2 Arena · Wembley Stadium · Twickenham Stadium · Emirates Stadium · Ascot Racecourse · Epsom Derby · Download Festival · Brands Hatch
Gatwick Airport · Heathrow Airport · Stansted Airport · Luton Airport · London City Airport · Southend Airport · Cruise transfers
London · Brighton · Canterbury · Chelmsford · Cambridge · Oxford · Guildford
Airport transfers Business · Events & venues · Event airport transfers
Airport & city taxis: Heathrow taxi · Gatwick taxi · Stansted taxi · Luton taxi · London City Airport taxi · Meet & greet · Southampton cruise transfers · London taxi · Corporate accounts
Browse: Airport transfers · Home
Rushxo is a trading name. Rushxo Ltd (company 16464640) owns the brand; journeys are operated by Get London Transfer Ltd (company 16243331), licensed by Transport for London, Operator Licence No. 11588.
Site index · Rushxo for Business · Visitor guides by country · London food & shopping guide · Airport transfers