Luton Airport charges a passenger drop-off fee

Want to be a good sport and drop off a friend at London Luton? It’s gonna cost you.

Luton’s really starting to nickel and dime passengers. First, there was the £1 trolley (cart) usage fee. That seems pretty reasonable; I’ve been running around checking cart coin slots for quarters since I was a kid. But they also charge £1 for clear plastic bags, should you need one to get your deodorant through security.

So … is there any way around the fee? According to the BBC News: “The airport said passengers could be dropped off at the mid-term car park to catch a shuttle bus to avoid the fee.”

Hassle much? Like you want to lug all your worldly belongings onto a shuttle bus — which you probably have to wait for — after your friend already drove you there!

There’s also a ten minute drop-off time limit. Why not just make people pay £1 for every minute over 10 minutes they spend, unless the passenger being dropped off has special needs?

The company which runs Luton, Abertis, also operates airports in Belfast and Cardiff. Watch out!