# Airport taxi business growth: how to win more airport work > To win more airport work, price every run as a fixed fare that already covers the airport's charges, sell meet and greet as an extra, set clear waiting rules and get found when people search for airport transfers from your town. The charges add up: Heathrow takes £7 every time a car enters its drop-off zones. Hotels, travel agents and business accounts then bring repeat bookings. By Joe, founder of Dispatch AI. Updated 2026-10-16. The web page: https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/winning-more-airport-work/ Airport runs are jobs worth having more of: booked ahead, longer than town work, and often with a return. Airport taxi business growth comes down to three things: a price the passenger trusts, a pickup that goes right when the flight doesn't, and enough people knowing you do it. This guide covers each one, with what the big airports charge your drivers. ## Why is airport work worth chasing? Airport work is worth chasing because it's planned. A passenger books days or weeks ahead, gives you a flight time and wants a fixed price, so you can plan cars and drivers instead of guessing. A good outbound job also gives you the chance to book the return on the same call. The passenger is also buying certainty more than a cheap fare. Nobody wants to miss a flight or stand in arrivals at midnight wondering where the car is. Firms that get that part right get the repeat bookings and the reviews that bring more. ## Where do airport bookings come from? From your own customers first, then from people searching, then from partners who book on someone else's behalf. | Where the booking comes from | What to do about it | |---|---| | Your regular customers going on holiday | Tell them you do airport runs: on the confirmation text, the website and the back of the car | | People searching "taxi to the airport from [your town]" | A page on your website for each airport you serve, with the fixed price on it | | Families comparing a taxi with airport parking | Show the return fare next to what parking costs for the same week | | Hotels whose guests are flying out | A desk arrangement, covered in our guide to [hotel and venue partnerships](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/hotel-and-venue-partnerships-for-taxi-firms/) | | Independent travel agents | A price card for their customers' transfers, with written commission terms | | Business travellers | An account with their employer (see [winning corporate accounts](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/winning-corporate-taxi-accounts/)) | The parking comparison is worth doing properly. Manchester Airport's own parking page lists JetParks from £54.99 for 8 days and Meet & Greet parking from £82.99 for 8 days. Put your return fare from the same postcode beside numbers like those, and some families will decide the taxi is the easier option. Getting found on Google is its own job. Our guides to [SEO for taxi firms](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/seo-for-taxi-firms/) and [your Google Business Profile](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/google-business-profile-for-taxi-firms/) cover it. ## How should you price airport runs to win them? Price every airport run as a fixed fare, quoted as one total that already includes the airport's charges. A passenger compares quotes on the headline price, and a fee added on later feels like a trick. The Competition and Markets Authority's price transparency guidance (CMA209, first published 18 November 2025) covers how businesses should show mandatory fees and charges, and what it calls drip pricing, where charges are added as the customer goes through a booking. An airport charge that every passenger pays belongs inside your fare. Build each airport fare from: 1. The drive there and back, including the empty leg if returns from that airport are rare. 2. The airport's drop-off or pick-up charge, at today's rate. 3. Parking time for meet and greet jobs. 4. A margin you're happy with on a bad night, not just a good one. Then quote the return in the same breath. Our guide to [taxi zone pricing](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/taxi-zone-pricing/) shows how to set fixed fares by area so every controller quotes the same price. ## What do airports charge taxi drivers? Every big UK airport now charges for using its kerb, and the rules differ. These are the figures on each airport's own website when this guide was checked: | Airport | Dropping off | Picking up | Free option | |---|---|---|---| | Heathrow | £7 each time a vehicle enters a terminal drop-off zone; taxis and private hire cars pay too | From Terminal Parking or Park & Ride car parks, not the forecourt; private hire drivers can wait at the Authorised Vehicle Area for £1.00 an hour for the first five hours | Drop-off at Park & Ride car parks, with a bus to the terminal | | Gatwick | £10 for 10 minutes, then £1 for each extra minute, with a 30-minute maximum stay | Short Stay car parks and express pick-up bays at Short Stay rates | Long Stay car parks, up to 2 hours free, with a shuttle bus | | Manchester | £5.50 for 5 minutes, £6.50 for 10 minutes, £25 for up to 30 minutes | Terminal 2 express pick-up £6.60 for up to 15 minutes; private hire uses the Express Pick Up areas | Free Drop Off area in JetParks 1, with a free shuttle bus | | Bristol | Drop Off & Pick Up car park from £8.50 for up to 10 minutes, £10.50 for 10 to 20 minutes | The same car park, on the same tariff | Waiting Zone, up to 1 hour free, with a shuttle bus | | Luton | £9 for 12 minutes, then £1 a minute, with a 30-minute maximum stay | The same Drop Off and Pick Up Zone | Long Stay car park, up to 2 hours free, with a 10-minute bus ride | Pay on time, or the charge grows. Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Luton all ask for payment by midnight the day after the visit. Heathrow's penalty for not paying is an £80 parking charge, cut to £40 if paid within 14 days, and Manchester's is £100, cut to £60. Heathrow recommends that private hire drivers and operators open a free business account, which pays the charge by autopay. Do that for every airport your drivers use each week, and put the charge on the job record so you can see what each run really earned. There's more on recording airport jobs in our guide to [airport transfer booking software](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/airport-transfer-booking-software/). ## Should you offer meet and greet? Yes, as a priced extra. Meet and greet means the driver parks, walks into arrivals and holds up a name board. Gatwick, for example, tells people meeting passengers to park in its Short Stay car parks and walk to arrivals, so the job costs you parking time on top of the drive. The passengers who value it most are families with young children, older travellers, people with heavy luggage, first-time visitors and business clients whose company is paying. Offer it on the call, every time, and charge enough to cover the car park. If you use Dispatch AI, its phone agent offers the extras you sell, such as meet and greet or booking the return, while the passenger is still on the line. ## What waiting rules should you set for airport pickups? Set them in writing, put them in the booking confirmation and stick to them. The four questions every policy has to answer: - Does free waiting start at the scheduled landing time or when the plane actually lands? - How long is the free waiting, and what do you charge after it? - How long does the driver wait before the office rings the passenger? - When does the job count as a no-show, and what does that cost? Your controller checks the flight before the driver sets off. Airports publish live arrivals on their websites, and Gatwick points people collecting passengers to its live flights page. Waiting has a real cost too: at Heathrow the Authorised Vehicle Area costs £1.00 an hour for the first five hours, and then £41 for 5 to 6 hours. ## Can you pick up at an airport outside your council area? Yes, for a pre-booked private hire job, as long as your licences line up. GOV.UK says the driver licence, vehicle licence and operator licence all need to be issued by the same authority. When they are, and the booking was taken by your licensed operator, the journey can start at an airport in another area. Hackney carriages can do pre-booked work further afield too: the Department for Transport's best practice guidance says holders of taxi licences can carry pre-booked fares anywhere in England and Wales. What neither can do is pick up a passenger who hasn't booked. The taxi ranks at an airport are for that area's licensed taxis. Airports add their own rules on top. Heathrow's Authorised Vehicle Area is only for authorised private hire operators and their vehicles, and drivers must show the operator licence on request. Manchester says all private hire operators pick up from its Express Pick Up areas. Our guide to [cross-border hiring and subcontracting](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/cross-border-hiring-and-subcontracting/) explains the licensing in full. ## How do you keep airport customers coming back? Book the return before you drop them off, if you didn't book it on the first call. Send the driver's name and car details before the pickup. Then, a day after they're home, ask for a review: a passenger who landed at midnight and found the driver waiting has something to say. Our guide to [getting more Google reviews](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/getting-more-google-reviews-taxi/) covers how to ask. Keep a note of who flies where and when. The family that goes to the same resort every Easter is a booking you can ask for in February. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a special licence to do airport runs? No. Airport runs are ordinary private hire or taxi work, so you need your usual operator, driver and vehicle licences from your council, or from Transport for London in London. Some airports add their own access rules, such as Heathrow's check for a valid private hire operator licence at its Authorised Vehicle Area. ### Can my drivers wait on the airport taxi rank for a fare? Not in a private hire car. A private hire vehicle can only carry passengers booked through a licensed operator, so drivers wait in the car park or waiting area the airport sets aside and collect the passenger who booked. The ranks are for the hackney carriages licensed for that area. ### Which cars win airport work? Cars with room for luggage. An estate or a people carrier takes a family's cases without anyone holding a bag on their lap, and an eight-seater wins group bookings that a saloon can't. If you sell executive airport runs, the car has to match what the passenger is paying for. ### Should I charge more for airport runs at night? For private hire it's your choice: the Department for Transport's best practice guidance says councils have no power to set private hire fares. Whatever you decide, put it in the price you quote, and keep it the same for every controller and every caller. For hackney carriages, the same guidance says councils can set maximum fares for journeys within their area, and most do. ### What happens if a flight is diverted to another airport? Ring the passenger as soon as you know, and agree a plan before the driver moves. Write your diversion rule into your terms in advance: whether you'll collect from the new airport, and how the extra distance is charged. ## Sources - [Terminal Drop-Off Charge (Heathrow Airport)](https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/terminal-drop-off-charge) £7 per entry, taxis and private hire included, pick-ups from car parks, business accounts, penalties - [Authorised Vehicle Area (Heathrow Airport)](https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/taxis-and-minicabs/authorised-vehicle-area) access for licensed private hire operators, £1.00 an hour for five hours - [Drop-off (London Gatwick)](https://www.gatwickairport.com/transport-options/drop-off.html) £10 for 10 minutes, then £1 a minute, 30 minutes' maximum stay - [Pick-up (London Gatwick)](https://www.gatwickairport.com/transport-options/pick-up.html) Short Stay and express pick-up, Long Stay 2 hours free, live flights page - [Pick up and drop off (Manchester Airport)](https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/pick-up-and-drop-off/) drop-off and pick-up prices, JetParks 1, penalties - [Travel by taxi and private hire (Manchester Airport)](https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/by-taxi/) private hire pick-up from the Express Pick Up areas - [Drop & Go and other parking (Manchester Airport)](https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/parking/drop-and-go/) JetParks and Meet & Greet parking prices - [Drop Off & Pick Up Car Park (Bristol Airport)](https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/parking/drop-off-and-pick-up/) tariff from £8.50, Waiting Zone - [Dropping off (London Luton Airport)](https://www.london-luton.co.uk/to-and-from-lla/dropping-off) £9 for 12 minutes, Long Stay 2 hours free - [Price transparency, CMA209 (Competition and Markets Authority)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/price-transparency-cma209) mandatory fees and drip pricing - [Private hire vehicle operator licence (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/operator-licence-private-hire-vehicle) driver, vehicle and operator licences from the same authority - [Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: best practice guidance (Department for Transport)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-licensing-best-practice-guidance-for-licensing-authorities-in-england) section 6.12, pre-booked taxi fares anywhere in England and Wales; section 10, fares - [Town Police Clauses Act 1847, section 45](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/10-11/89/section/45) plying for hire without a hackney carriage licence Dispatch AI is a trading name of CABO TECH SOLUTION AI LTD, registered in England and Wales, company no. 16255667.