A £7 charge applies every time a vehicle enters a Heathrow terminal drop-off zone, whether it is a private car, a black cab or a private-hire vehicle. Payment cannot be made at the zone itself; you pay online, by phone or through autopay, by midnight the next day at the latest. The free alternative is Heathrow's Park & Ride car parks, where a free shuttle bus takes passengers straight to the terminal.
How the £7 charge actually works
Heathrow's terminal drop-off zones sit right outside each terminal building, and they are the quickest way to drop someone off close to check-in. There are no barriers, so you are not stopped at the point of entry; instead, you incur the £7 charge automatically the moment your vehicle enters the zone, and you are expected to pay it yourself afterwards.
Key rules to know before you drive in:
- The charge is £7 per visit, and it applies every single time you enter, even if you only stay a minute.
- Payment can only be made by card, online or by automated phone service on 0330 008 5600. You cannot pay by cash or cheque, and there is no ticket machine at the zone itself.
- If you pay after dropping off, payment must reach Heathrow by midnight the following day.
- Pre-paying in advance keeps your credit valid for 12 months from purchase; unused funds expire after that.
- Failing to pay results in an £80 Parking Charge, reduced to £40 if you pay within 14 days.
No pick-ups or waiting are allowed in the drop-off zones. If you are collecting someone rather than dropping them off, you need to use a Terminal Parking or Park & Ride car park instead, not the drop-off zone.
Where each terminal's drop-off zone is
| Terminal | How to reach it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 2 | Off Constellation Way, via the up ramp | £7 per visit, pay online or by phone |
| Terminal 3 | Cosmopolitan Way onto Camborne Road | Four drop-off lanes; £7 per visit |
| Terminal 4 | Stratford Road, three lanes at the top of the ramp | £7 per visit, no on-site payment option |
| Terminal 5 | Wayfarer Road, splitting into two lanes | £7 per visit, pay online or by phone only |
How to avoid paying the £7 charge
The only genuinely free way to drop someone off at Heathrow is to use the Park & Ride car parks, previously known as Long Stay. You drive in, park briefly, and take a free bus transfer to the terminal with your passenger. This adds time compared with driving straight to the terminal forecourt, so it suits drivers who are not in a rush rather than a quick kerbside drop before a tight check-in deadline.
There is no way to drop off directly outside a terminal without triggering the £7 fee. If your priority is speed rather than saving money, paying the charge and using the terminal drop-off zone is simply the trade-off.
Blue Badge holders
Blue Badge holders arriving by taxi can apply for a 100% discount on the drop-off charge, up to three months in advance, during the trip itself, or by midnight the next day, using the taxi's vehicle registration number. If a registered Blue Badge concession applies, the taxi driver should not add the charge to the meter.
If you drive for a living
Heathrow strongly recommends that taxi and private-hire drivers set up a free business account, which allows autopay, a full record of drop-offs for reconciling Blue Badge concessions, and payment any time up to midnight the day after a drop-off. Private-hire drivers who want to wait for a passenger rather than doing a straight drop-off can use the Heathrow Authorised Vehicle Area instead of the terminal forecourt.
Planning around the charge
If you are driving someone to catch a flight, decide before you set off whether speed or cost matters more for that trip. A tight check-in deadline usually makes the terminal drop-off zone worth the £7, since it puts your passenger at the door with minimal walking. A more relaxed schedule makes the free Park & Ride option worth the extra few minutes on the shuttle bus, particularly if you are also collecting someone later the same day and want to avoid paying £7 twice.
It is also worth checking, before you travel, whether the terminal you are using has any temporary changes to its car parks or drop-off arrangements, since Heathrow periodically closes or relocates individual car parks for redevelopment work, most recently affecting Terminal 4 parking. A quick check of Heathrow's own transport pages before you leave home avoids arriving to find your usual route or car park has moved.
Setting up autopay
If you expect to use the drop-off zones regularly, whether as a family member doing frequent airport runs or a private-hire driver, setting up autopay through a personal or business account removes the need to remember to pay after each visit. It also reduces the risk of missing the midnight-the-next-day deadline and being issued the £80 Parking Charge by mistake.
FAQs
Answered below are the questions drivers most often ask about the Heathrow drop-off charge.