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27
Feb
Leeds Bradford parking charge increases met with backlash
Leeds Bradford Airport has raised the prices of its pick-up and drop-off carpark to what may be the highest in the UK.
Charges currently start at £7 for standard users, with Smooth Park customers receiving a 10% discount of 70p, bringing the starting price to £6.30.
But from Monday (March 2), the standard price will increase to £8.
The full revised standard rate pricing structure is as follows. Smooth Park, LBA's ticketless pre-registration option, gives a £1 discount on all these prices.
- 0-10 minutes: £8
- 11-20 minutes: £10
- 21-30 minutes: £13.50
- 31-60 minutes: £16.50
- Each subsequent hour: £16.50
Most expensive in the UK?
When the Civil Aviation Authority last updated its figures in January 2026, Leeds Bradford Airport had one of the most expensive pick-up and drop-off parking regimes in the country. Only Luton was slightly more expensive.
But that was before the latest price increases, and they may well make LBA’s charging structure the steepest in the UK.
People across the region have taken to social media to express their disapproval.
The increases have been called “disgusting”, “unbelievably greedy”, and “a total rip-off" on Facebook.
One wrote:
Disgusting! We choose to fly local to support the local airport but this cost is just a p*ss take!!! It's literally a drive through... £8 is extortionate!
Another wrote:
You drive in and stop for 30 seconds whilst whoever you’re dropping off gets their luggage out, and then get charged £8. You’re hardly parking your car are you? Absolute rip off.
Another offered a radical answer:
Simple solution, don’t fly from there. They will soon remove that pricing when no customers use the airport.
The comments have not all been negative, however. One commenter wrote:
Love the fact there's a 1hr free drop-off within walking distance. Manchester Airport need to take note on that! Very poor, & very expensive for a quick drop-off there.
Airport response
The Stray Ferret asked LBA about the price increases. A spokesperson told us:
Leeds Bradford Airport can confirm that it will be increasing the charge for pick-up and drop-off at the terminal.
This decision has been made in response to rising operational costs across the business, including a significant increase in business rates.
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