A planned hike in Heathrow drop-off fees has been condemned as unjustifiable by the Business Travel Association.
The charge is due to rise from £5 to £6 in January following a similar increase at the start of this year.
The corporate travel trade body has written to Heathrow criticising the planned 20% increase and calling for a rethink.
While free park-and-ride options exist at Heathrow, they are often impractical for time-sensitive business travellers, the BTA argues.
The association is seeking a meeting with Heathrow ‘s leadership to address its concerns.
The BTA’s letter outlines at least 193,000 car movements per day at the airport.
It predicts Heathrow’s additional revenue for parking to exceed £35.2 million in the year ahead – a number that accounts for only a 50% use of the drop-off option.
The BTA is calling for reconsideration of prices.
BTA chief executive Clive Wratten said: “This increase cannot be justified as a sustainability measure or as an alignment with other airports’ practices.
“It is a blatant raid on travellers’ wallets, disproportionately affecting business, solo, and female travellers.”
He added: “We will be urging our members to look beyond Heathrow to save money on corporate travel and discourage other airports from following suit.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We understand that not all passengers will welcome this increase, but the drop-off charge is an important part of our sustainability strategy and changes behaviour to reduce Heathrow’s environmental impact.
“This charge goes towards funding sustainable transport initiatives while reducing pollution and congestion around the airport.
“Free drop-off and pick-up options remain available for all terminals at all our park & ride car parks.”