You cannot collect anyone from the drop off area outside a Heathrow terminal. Waiting there is not allowed, and the cameras will bill you whether you were dropping off or picking up.
To collect an arriving passenger you have two choices:
- Park and walk in. Use the Terminal Parking car park (this is the car park Heathrow used to call Short Stay) for whichever terminal they’re landing at. A few minutes’ walk to arrivals. You pay from the moment you enter.
- Wait in the Park & Ride or Long Stay car park and collect them there. Roughly the first half hour is free. Your passenger takes the free shuttle bus out to you.
Terminal 4 works differently since June 2026. If you’re collecting from T4 and you’re following directions you used last year, they will send you to a car park that no longer exists. Skip to the Terminal 4 section below.
The rule that catches people out
The drop-off charge went up to £7 per visit on 1 January 2026, and at the same time Heathrow introduced a 10-minute maximum stay on every terminal forecourt. Most drivers know about the fee by now. What they don’t know is that the forecourt is for dropping off only. Heathrow’s own guidance is explicit: pick-ups and waiting are not permitted in the terminal drop-off areas, and any collection has to happen from Terminal Parking or a Park & Ride car park.
This is where it goes wrong. You pull onto the forecourt because that’s where you dropped them off three weeks ago. Your passenger is still at baggage reclaim. Fifteen minutes pass. You’ve now paid £7 you didn’t need to pay, exceeded the 10-minute limit, and a Parking Charge Notice is on its way.
There are no barriers and no payment machines. Number plate cameras log every vehicle entering the forecourt, and you pay online afterwards. Miss the deadline midnight the day after your visit and the charge becomes £80, reduced to £40 if you pay within 14 days.
Sitting in a queue on the forecourt waiting for someone to clear customs is one of the more expensive mistakes you can make at this airport. If you want the wider picture on how these charges stack up across UK airports, we covered that in do airports charge you for parking.
Where to wait, terminal by terminal
Terminals 2, 3 and 5
For these three, the paid collection point is the terminal’s own Terminal Parking car park. If you’ve used Heathrow before, you’ll know it as Short Stay the name changed, the car park didn’t. Follow signs for your terminal, then for Terminal Parking or Short Stay.
These sit within walking distance of the arrivals hall, usually two or three minutes. You park, walk in, meet your passenger at arrivals, and walk back together.
This is the option to choose when the passenger has several suitcases, is travelling with children, or has any mobility difficulty. Paying a few pounds to park close and help with the bags is generally better value than asking someone to wrestle three cases onto a shuttle bus.
Terminal 5 is worth a specific warning. It’s the busiest terminal at Heathrow and the approach roads back up badly, particularly late morning and early evening. Build in more time than you think you need.
Terminal 4 is different {#terminal-4-is-different}
The Terminal 4 multi-storey car park closed permanently on 23 June 2026 as part of a long-term redevelopment. It is not reopening. Both Terminal Parking and the official Meet and Greet service went with it.
Passenger parking for T4 has moved to Zone A of the Terminal 4 Park & Ride on Scylla Road, TW6 3XL. There’s also a Priority Pick-Up area, which is chargeable, while collection from Zone A of the Park & Ride is the free route.
The problem is that a lot of pages still online including guides that rank well describe the old layout. If you drive in following instructions that mention the T4 multi-storey Short Stay, you’ll end up circling a construction site.
We’ve written the full breakdown of what changed and where everything moved in Heathrow Terminal 4 parking: what changed in 2026. Read that before you set off if T4 is your terminal.
How to pick up for free
If you don’t mind your passenger taking a short bus ride, collection at Heathrow can cost nothing.
Drive to the Long Stay or Park & Ride car park for the relevant terminal. Take a ticket at the barrier, which timestamps your arrival. Roughly the first half hour is free the commonly quoted allowance is 29 minutes, so treat 29 as your working number rather than 30. Wait in the car park. When your passenger has their bags and has cleared customs, they take the free shuttle bus out to you, you load up, and you leave before the free period expires.
Shuttles run every 10 to 15 minutes and take a few minutes each way.
Three things make this work or fail:
Don’t enter the car park too early. The clock starts when you take the ticket, not when your passenger lands. If they’re still at passport control, you’re burning your free minutes in an empty car park. Wait somewhere off-airport until they message you.
Agree the plan before they fly. The single biggest cause of a blown free window is a passenger who walks out to the arrivals hall and stands there, because nobody told them to get on a bus. Tell them the terminal, the car park, and the bus, in writing, before they board.
Watch the flight, not the schedule. Track the actual arrival time rather than the timetabled one, and remember that landing and appearing in arrivals are 45 minutes to an hour apart on a long-haul flight with hold luggage.
If you overstay, charges begin at around £8.30 for the first hour.
What it costs
| Option | Roughly what you pay | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal forecourt | £7 per entry, 10 min max and pick-ups are not permitted | Dropping off only |
| Terminal Parking (T2, T3, T5) | From around £8 for the first period | Heavy luggage, children, mobility needs, meeting inside |
| Long Stay / Park & Ride | Free for the first 29 minutes, then from about £8.30 an hour | A passenger who can manage a shuttle bus |
| Terminal 4 Priority Pick-Up | Chargeable | T4 collections where you want to be close |
| Terminal 4 Park & Ride, Zone A | Free within the initial period | The free T4 option |
Heathrow revises these periodically, so check the current rate before you travel. If you want to understand why airport parking is priced the way it is, we’ve explained the economics here.
When the flight is delayed
This is the scenario that turns a free pick-up into an expensive one. If you’re already in a free car park and the arrival slips, you have a decision to make before your 29 minutes runs out. Leaving and re-entering resets the clock the car parks are set up so that’s possible but it isn’t something to lean on repeatedly, and on a busy evening you may not get straight back in.
The more comfortable approach on a badly delayed flight is to wait somewhere off the airport entirely. A pub or retail park car park a few minutes’ drive out costs you nothing and removes the time pressure completely. Move in only when your passenger confirms they have their bags.
If the delay is several hours and you’re collecting late at night, it may be cheaper and considerably less stressful to book a parking space properly rather than improvise. You can compare options and book in a few minutes, and our guide to booking airport parking online covers what to check before you pay.
Blue Badge holders
Blue Badge holders get a 100% discount on the drop-off charge and are exempt from the 10-minute limit, but the exemption has to be registered in advance through Heathrow’s official process. It isn’t applied automatically because you displayed a badge.
If the arriving passenger is a Blue Badge holder, the first two hours in the Park & Ride car parks are free of charge, which removes most of the time pressure from a delayed arrival.
Register before you travel. Doing it afterwards is possible within a limited window, but it’s an unnecessary risk.
Private hire and taxi drivers
If you drive private hire, you don’t wait on the forecourt and you don’t sit in the public car park meter running. Heathrow operates a dedicated Authorised Vehicle Area (AVA) where private hire vehicles wait before collecting from Terminal Parking.
Black cabs registered for a Blue Badge concession should not add the drop-off charge to the meter.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pick someone up from outside the Heathrow terminal?
No. The forecourt is a drop-off area only. Waiting and pick-ups are not permitted there. Collections must be made from Terminal Parking or a Park & Ride car park.
How much does it cost to pick someone up at Heathrow?
It can be free. Wait in the Long Stay or Park & Ride car park, where roughly the first 29 minutes cost nothing, and have your passenger take the free shuttle bus to you. If you’d rather park close and walk into arrivals, Terminal Parking starts at around £8.
Where do I pick up from Terminal 4?
Not the old multi-storey car park, which closed permanently on 23 June 2026.
What happens if I don’t pay the drop-off charge?
You’ll receive a Parking Charge Notice for £80, reduced to £40 if you pay within 14 days. Payment for the £7 charge is due by midnight the day after your visit, and can only be made online or by phone not at a machine at the airport.
Does the £7 drop-off charge cover picking someone up as well?
No. It’s charged per entry to the forecourt, and the forecourt isn’t where you collect from in the first place. Paying it doesn’t buy you the right to wait.
How long should I allow between landing and pick-up?
For a short-haul flight with hand luggage, 30 to 40 minutes from touchdown. For long-haul with hold luggage and passport control, allow an hour or more. Track the actual arrival time rather than the scheduled one.