Edinburgh Airport Raises Drop-Off Fees From £6 To £8.50

Edinburgh Airport will hike its drop-off charge from £6 to £8.50 from Monday 18 May — a 42% jump that bosses have blamed on a sharp rise in business rates.

The new £8.50 fee covers a 10-minute stay in the dedicated drop-off and pick-up zone outside the main terminal. After that, drivers will pay £1 for every additional minute, with a two-hour maximum stay. The airport will also scrap a 50% discount that electric vehicle drivers had been entitled to under the previous tariff.

The 30-minute free drop-off zone at the long-stay car park — about a 10-minute walk from the terminal — remains in place, with extra spaces being added and the free shuttle bus back in service.

Airport bosses say their hand has been forced. Chief executive Gordon Dewar described the rise as “unavoidable” following a 142% increase in the airport’s business rates bill, with the figure climbing from £5.4 million in 2025-26 to a projected £8.1 million in 2026-27 after Revaluation Transitional Relief.

“This decision to impose an unplanned and wholly disproportionate £8 million rates increase has an immediate and negative impact on our business,” Dewar said. “A 142% increase reduces our ability to invest, grow and compete. In practical terms, it equates to funding around 200 jobs, two aircraft stands, or five new security lanes.”

He added: “Like many across the hospitality and tourism sectors who have seen business rates soar, we have no choice but to pass part of this cost on to passengers.”

The £8.50 fee makes Edinburgh the most expensive Scottish airport for drop-offs. Glasgow and Aberdeen charge £7 for 15 minutes; Glasgow’s drop-off fee is £4.50 in some zones. Across the UK, Bristol also charges £8.50, while London Gatwick is £10.

For taxi and private hire drivers, this one bites. Cabbies who do regular airport runs will inevitably pass the cost on to passengers, and the increase will be felt most by drivers picking up flight arrivals where small delays can push the charge well above the headline £8.50. As one driver told BBC Scotland: “It is ridiculous. I have no sympathy for the airport, the cost of living has gone up for everybody.”

There’s also the question of the EV discount being scrapped. Drivers who’ve switched to electric — often at significant personal cost — have just lost one of the small perks that came with the change. Whether other airports follow suit will be worth watching.

Edinburgh Airport has written to the convener of the Lothian Valuation Joint Board, Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee to outline its concerns about the rates process. A Scottish Government spokesperson noted that property valuation is a matter for independent Scottish assessors and pointed to Revaluation Transitional Relief, which caps gross liability increases until the next revaluation in 2029.

For passengers, the workaround is simple — use the free 30-minute long-stay drop-off and walk or get the shuttle. For drivers doing the job day in, day out, that’s not always practical, and the extra cost is now baked in for the foreseeable future.

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