Civil Aviation Bill Carries Proposed Review of Airport Drop-Off Charges

The Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on 9 September 2026. The Bill arrived in the Commons from the House of Lords and remains under consideration in Parliament.

It carries a provision added by the Lords that would require the Secretary of State to review the impact of airport drop-off charges on airport-service users. If the provision becomes part of the Act, the review would have to be published and laid before both Houses of Parliament within six months of the Act being passed.

That timetable has not started. The Bill has not yet completed its parliamentary passage, and the eventual date of any Act is not known.

Transport Minister Keir Mather told MPs during the Commons debate that the Government had no objection to carrying out the review. He also said ministers would need to determine the review’s terms and the time required to engage with the issues raised by MPs.

The matters identified for consideration included transparency, the level of charges, affordability and whether free drop-off facilities are available. Mather also said airport drop-off charges can be used for congestion management, to support mode-share targets and to fund infrastructure.

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No review launch date or terms of reference were announced during the debate. There was also no announcement of a consultation, a cap on charges, a ban or an exemption scheme.

The proposed provision is a review requirement rather than direct regulation of airport drop-off fees. Airport operators generally set their own drop-off and pick-up charges, subject to consumer and competition law. Parliamentary background material has also noted that an earlier Civil Aviation Authority surface-access review considered consumer and competition issues connected with airport access charges.

The review provision originated as a successful Conservative amendment at the Lords report stage in July 2026. Taxi and private-hire access was raised during the Commons debate, but no dedicated requirement for access by licensed vehicles has been announced.

If the Bill becomes law with the provision intact, the Secretary of State would have to publish the review and lay it before both Houses within the specified six-month period. Until then, the measure does not itself change the charges set by airport operators.

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