The Department for Transport will review airport drop-off fees, up about a third since summer 2025. Mid Cheshire MP Andrew Cooper has welcomed the move.

The Government is to review the drop-off charges that airports levy on drivers who stop for a few minutes to let a passenger out, and Mid Cheshire’s MP says it is overdue.

The Department for Transport has confirmed it will look at the fees to make sure travel stays accessible and passengers are treated fairly, according to a statement from the office of Andrew Cooper, the Labour MP for Mid Cheshire. His office says some drivers are paying more than £10 to stop for little more than a few minutes, and that fees at major airports have risen by around a third since summer 2025.

No timetable has been given. The Government will announce more details of the review “in due course”, the statement says.

Why a Mid Cheshire MP has been pressing it

Mr Cooper says he is regularly contacted by constituents unhappy at the rise, and that he raised it in the House of Commons during debate on the Aviation Bill.

Last year he also tabled a Parliamentary question asking the Transport Secretary what discussions had been held with Manchester Airport about its drop-off and pick-up charges. The answer came from Keir Mather, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport: airports in the UK are run as private businesses, but the department expects car parking at airports such as Manchester to be “managed appropriately and consumers treated fairly”.

Now that the fees are to be reviewed, Mr Cooper says he backs the Government and Prime Minister Andy Burnham in wanting airports to show restraint on the charges, particularly where passengers have few public transport alternatives.

“Charges should be fair and proportionate”

Mr Cooper said:

“This is an issue I have been raising for quite some time, and I am pleased that these charges are now coming under the microscope.

“Many of my constituents from Winsford, Northwich and Middlewich are met with these charges whenever they fly from the likes of Manchester and have experienced steep hikes over a relatively short period of time.

“I accept that airports needed to control congestion, but charges should be fair and proportionate, especially where passengers had no realistic alternative.”

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes yet. The review has been announced, not carried out, so the current charges at Manchester and other airports still apply on your next trip.
  • The scope is not yet published. Which airports it covers, and whether it could lead to a cap or new guidance, will only be known when the Government sets out the details.
  • Constituents in Winsford, Northwich and Middlewich who want to tell their MP about charges they have paid can contact Mr Cooper’s office through andrewcooper.net or at Unit 23 Meridian House, Road One Industrial Estate, Winsford CW7 3QG.