Manchester Airport is to begin charging for drop-offs.

From June, drivers will be charged £3 for five minutes on the forecourts of the terminals and train station, or £4 for a maximum 10 minutes.

There is no change to arrangements for picking people up, with those collecting passengers asked to park in the car parks at each terminal, which already cost £4 for 30 minutes.

Drivers can get past the fee by driving to a ‘new drop-off zone’ almost a mile away from where passengers will be transferred visa a designated free shuttle bus to the terminals.

An exact date in June for the system being introduced is still to be confirmed.

The airport has confirmed Blue Badge holders will be able to drop-off outside the terminals free of charge.

Tricia Williams, COO of Manchester Airport, said, “Manchester Airport has seen a significant increase in passenger volumes in the past five years and is heavily investing in further growth and improvements to the customer experience, most notably through our £1bn transformation programme.

“This growth, coupled with imposed security restrictions on forecourt capacity and an inability to increase available space, has led to extreme congestion around the estate, especially at peak times. It became clear we had to take a more proactive approach to managing this, as Manchester Airport continues to grow, which is why we are introducing a forecourt management system, including a dedicated free site for people to be dropped-off at.

“We have listened carefully to issues raised by passengers since announcing our plans and have been able to respond to many of the concerns raised through the measures being announced today.

“We will announce any further details, including the exact date the system will be introduced, at the earliest opportunity.”