Tag: gatwick

Travel Habits Changing: The Impact of Rising Airport Fees

Over the Christmas and New Year break, when you have too much free time on your hands, I find myself doing things I wouldn’t normally do. Facebook and Instagram are platforms I use on a daily basis in my working life, but X — or Twitter in old money — I rarely use. However, when I have time, I find myself going down a rabbit hole of scrolling and commenting on some of the absolute rubbish that people write. I know I should just leave it alone, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

While we were away, we discovered that we needed to get Jude, our youngest, back for a game of football and training. If we had known beforehand, then maybe we wouldn’t have gone, but we had already booked four days away to see family and friends. Luckily, we were staying with some friends near Gatwick Airport, so we booked him an early-morning flight from there. I took the liberty of checking whether there was a charge to drop someone at the airport, as I knew that Luton — where we had flown from — charged £7.00. I couldn’t believe it when I read that they had put their charge up from £7 to £10.00!

So, of course, I decided to send a tweet to the airport:

How does @Gatwick_Airport substantiate a £10 drop-off charge when my @easyJet flight in January costs €19? #ripoffbritain

Within minutes, I got a reply from the airport:

Hi, while we will be increasing our drop-off charge from £7 to £10, passengers can be dropped off for free in our long-stay car parks, with a free shuttle bus to the terminal. Blue Badge holders remain exempt from the charge. The drop-off charge helps to limit the number of cars, reduce congestion, and fund a number of sustainable transport initiatives. It also plays a role in encouraging more passengers and staff to use public transport to reach the airport. Thanks, Grace

Then came the pile-on, with loads of comments mainly chastising the airport for what is basically a money grab. For a few hours, I actually went viral, which was fun. But the more serious side of me focused on the attitude of UK airports towards their passengers arriving at the airport.

London City: £13.00 (10 mins)

Heathrow: £7.00 (10 mins)

Manchester: £6.40 (10 mins)

Glasgow: £6.00 (10 mins)

Belfast: £3.00 (10 mins)

Cardiff: £3.00 (10 mins)

Compare that to some of the major airports around the world:

Palma: Free 

Paris (CDG, Orly): Free

Madrid (Barajas): Free

Frankfurt: Free

Barcelona: Free

New York JFK: Free

Dubai: Free

Seamus McCauley, Head of Public Affairs at Holiday Extras, commented:

“Airport drop-off fees have quietly become one of the fastest-rising costs of going on holiday. What used to be a quick goodbye can now cost up to £10 — and that’s before you factor in fines if it takes a little longer than anticipated.”

According to a new report, because of the financial squeeze in the UK, several long-standing travel habits are quietly being ditched this year. From packing techniques to what travellers get up to once they are inside airports, there are plenty of changes being made.

The biggest behaviour being dropped is holidaymakers no longer drinking and dining as much in airports. For some, an airport pint or a full English is the perfect fuel before a flight, but it appears this might not be as popular anymore. Rising prices and the overall cost of living mean more people are packing permitted snacks in their hand luggage to cut expenses and avoid buying food and drink at airports.

As for what travellers are putting in their bags, this has changed too. Passengers are now less likely to overpack, with many leaving the bad habit behind to avoid extra charges and baggage fees. Low-cost flights still exist, but by the time you’ve added on the extras, they aren’t anywhere near the price advertised. It’s mad that an airport drop-off, a bag that doesn’t fit the airline’s sizer, or even a caramel macchiato can actually cost more than a flight.

The travel industry needs to make sure it doesn’t price itself out of the market.

5 Answers To The Question, What To Do At An Airport When Waiting For A Connecting Flight?

We knew that after a couple of weeks away seeing family and friends over the Christmas period and then jetting off to the beautiful island of Jamaica, we still had the dreaded return journey. Flights returning home always seem quicker which in most cases they are but not for us as we had the added complication of getting from the UK to Mallorca and in the winter time that isn’t as easy as you think.  It’s the getting off of one plane and then getting back on another which is the pain. Only this pain was going to be slightly longer than we wanted. Landing at Gatwick at 06.45 in the morning, we then had to wait until 17.00 to get our flight back to Mallorca. 

So what do you do when waiting for a connecting flight at London Gatwick or any other airport for that matter? Our problem was that Easyjet(others weren’t available) only allow you to check-in a maximum 3 hours before your scheduled flight time. Airports aren’t really designed for you to spend a significant amount of time landside, the fun only starts once you get airside. It’s a question though that will pop up again and again during this piece. Believe me when I say I exhausted all efforts to try and take away the boredom we faced. 

The three hotels right by the North terminal where we landed and were leaving from are the Premier Inn, Sofitel and the Hampton by Hilton. The Sofitel check-in is from 14.00, the Hampton by Hilton is from 15.00. That is the same as the Premier Inn who were the only ones to offer an earlier check-in at 11.00 for only £10.00 but this is only payable on arrival and subject to availability on the day. 

So a hotel was really a no go. 

All the airport lounges are airside. Which when you think about it makes sense but why not offer one that is landside? I’m sure there’s many more people who will be in the same position as us with a connecting flight and also those who would like to take the stress out of actually getting to the airport in the first place. It’s an idea if you’re reading this someone at Gatwick Airport.(unlikely!)

I even considered leaving our luggage at the airport which you can do. I found a company called stasher.com that offer certain places that will store your bags for £4.75 a bag. Then you could take a train to London to see the sights, have a meal, go shopping or go to the theatre as on the Gatwick Express you can arrive at Victoria in 30 minutes. Or take the train to Brighton, go the pier, visit the lanes or have some seaside fish & chips!  All of which you can get to also in only 30 minutes. The problem with either of those is you arrive knackered and you might not enjoy it as much. 

Another idea which we did the night before we flew to Jamaica was to take the local bus from the airport to Crowley Cineworld. It takes 15 minutes and was £2.00 each, each way. We saw a film, well I say saw a film, as the one I went to I fell asleep in. My Wife who’s my usual nudger had gone to a different one. Right outside the cinema you can eat at Nandos, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut or Five Guys to name a few. 

What we eventually decided on was a place on the ground floor of the South Terminal called Yotelair. Basically they are pods that have either double beds or bunk beds with a TV, shower and toilet. The advantage is they’ll let you book in at anytime for a minimum of 4 hours. It cost us £49.99 for each pod for the 4 hours and £10.00 for every extra hour after that. To be honest I found them a little bit claustrophobic but my Wife and boys slept without any problem. It was good though to have a shower after an overnight flight. After leaving our hotel in Jamaica at 12 midday on Thursday, we arrived back at our house in Mallorca at 21.00 on Friday night. 

I hope this will help anyone who has a similar journey to us coming up. As for us well we’re already planning on where we can go next year.

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the islands number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos.

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com