, but buying that oversized Toblerone or a capacious packet of M&Ms is money you could surely spend better elsewhere. Resist if you can. It is possible to get through the airport without spending anything? Getting from drop-off to the gate without spending a single penny takes some serious planning. Transport is an inevitability, unless you fancy lugging suitcases up the side of the M56. Choosing to drive and avoid the pound-per-minute charges outside Manchester Airport will mean paying for parking and taking a shuttle bus to the terminal, which can cost anywhere from £42 - £83 per week. If you are going to drive, it is also worth comparing prices at the long-stay car parks – and determinedly sticking to the cheapest one. And be warned: your old banger might seem a sensible option to drive to the airport, but London's ULEZ expansion (August 29) means you might be charged for the privilege at Heathrow. For London airports, the Tube or regular commuter trains are often cheaper than the named services – the Heathrow Express (around £25) is best avoided in favour of the Elizabeth line (from £10.70) or the Piccadilly line (cost depends on your starting point). If you must purchase items in the airport, take it as an opportunity to cash-in vouchers. Save loya){kind=link}
Record-high ‘kiss-and-fly’ fees are just one example of how the airport experience has become more expensive
The days of romantic airport departures are over. No longer are lovers prised apart on the concourse; gone are the parents waving anxiously as their child wanders over to the check-in desk to embark on a gap year. The leisurely goodbye is now a fantasy, condemned to the cinematic thrust of Love Actually and nothing more.
Why? Because this week it was reported that holidaymakers are being hit with record-high “kiss-and-fly” fees at UK airports: the charge for parking, very briefly, outside the terminal building. A third have increased their prices in the last year; only Cardiff, London City and Inverness allow cars to hover around the entrance for free. By comparison Stansted, which has the highest fee, charges £7 for a 15-minute drop off.
Yet anyone who has spent time in an airport recently will know that the whole process is now extremely expensive. Spending money on a 10-minute drop off feels preposterous. Combine that with a sandwich, drink, magazine, and a bottle of sun cream, and it quickly adds up to the equivalent of a budget airline ticket. Forget the discount you hunted down on the flight fare: this is where you really need to watch your spending. Here’s how.
After the stress of getting through security, browsing the menus of brightly lit chain restaurants is perversely thrilling. It is unlikely that you would choose to eat at a Giraffe on a Tuesday morning in non-airport life; here, you’re tempted by the full English and a mimosa. Why not, you’re on holiday after all.