Orpington to Gatwick Airport Taxi

Orpington to Gatwick Airport taxi fares

One-way fixed fares from Orpington to Gatwick Airport by vehicle, with the Gatwick drop-off charge included. The price you are quoted is the price you pay.

These are our published fixed fares for this journey. Your exact price is confirmed in writing before you travel. Returns are priced as two one-way fares. No booking fee, no card surcharge, child seats free.

Route & Real-World Timing: Orpington to Gatwick

The numbers

• Distance: 30.2 miles, Orpington station to Gatwick South Terminal.
• Clear-road time: around 39 minutes. That's what you get overnight, on the first runs of the morning and late in the evening.
• Daytime and peaks: longer. The table below shows the times we actually plan around.

Turn by turn

1. A232 Station Road away from the station and town centre.
2. A224 Court Road south, which takes you down to the motorway.
3. Hewitts Roundabout at M25 Junction 4 (Badgers Mount), where the A224, the A21 and the M25 slip roads all meet. We join the M25 anticlockwise here.
4. J5 Sevenoaks/Chipstead, where the M26 comes in from the east, then J6 Godstone (A22).
5. J7 Merstham, where we leave the M25 for the M23 heading south.
6. M23 to Junction 9. Between J8 and J10 it's a smart motorway, so the gantries may show lower speed limits or closed lanes.
7. Into Gatwick. The South Terminal is straight off the J9 roundabout, and the North Terminal is along the J9a spur. Airlines are split between the two terminals, so your driver checks your flight number before setting off.

Joining at J4 means you skip the A2 and M20 merges at J2 and J3 completely. Those cause a lot of the delays for people coming from Dartford, Bexley and Sidcup.

Where it slows down, and the extra time we add

• Hewitts Roundabout (J4). It's a short drive from Orpington, but at peak times this roundabout backs up, with traffic off the A21 and A224 all trying to get onto the M25 at once. In the weekday rush we add 5–10 minutes.
• J5, where the M26 joins. Traffic from the M26 and the A21 joins the anticlockwise carriageway here, and the lane-changing can bring things to stop-start even on an ordinary weekday. We add 5–10 minutes in the mornings.
• J6 Godstone to J7 Merstham. This is the delay you can almost always predict. In both rush hours the slip road onto the M23 queues back into the inside lane. Between 07:00–09:30 and 16:00–19:00 we allow 15–20 minutes extra.
• Busy travel days. Friday afternoons and summer Saturdays put extra airport traffic on the M25 and M23, so we add 15–20 minutes.

Pickup buffer table

Worked example: a long-haul morning departure

Say you're flying long-haul from the South Terminal at 11:00 on a weekday. Gatwick advises arriving 3 hours before long-haul flights (2 hours for short-haul), so you need to be at the terminal by 08:00. That puts most of the drive in the morning peak, and we plan 65 minutes. Your pickup in Chelsfield or Green Street Green would be 06:55, and your driver will be outside a few minutes before that. If the same flight were on a Sunday, we'd plan less time and pick you up later. Tell us your flight number when you book and we'll work out the time for you.

Gatwick Terminal Drop-Off Rules 2026

Where we drop you

• North Terminal: lower level, between the Sofitel and the multi-storey car park.
• South Terminal: lower level. Follow the "Drop Off" signs on the way in.
• Neither zone has barriers. ANPR cameras read each car's number plate on the way in and the way out.

What it costs

Since 6 January 2026, both terminals have charged:

• £10 for the first 10 minutes
• £1 for each extra minute after that
• a daily maximum of £30, with a maximum stay of 30 minutes

Drivers pay online, by phone on 0330 174 4503, or through an AutoPay account, any time up to midnight the day after the drop-off. If the charge isn't paid, a Parking Charge Notice follows. Times24 runs the scheme.

Included in our fare

The drop-off charge is already in your fare. We settle it ourselves, so you won't get a separate bill and there's no chance of a PCN reaching you. Lifting the cases onto the kerb takes a few minutes, well inside the first 10.

• Blue Badge holders are exempt, but the car has to be pre-registered with Times24. Mention it when you book and we'll send you the registration of the car we're sending.
• If a friend is dropping you off instead, Gatwick's Long Stay car parks give 2 hours free, with a free shuttle bus to the terminals.

Arrivals: getting you home

We track your flight, so your driver works to the time you actually land, whatever the timetable says. Your 60 minutes' free waiting starts at touchdown, which leaves time for passport control and the baggage belt. If you'd like to be met in the arrivals hall with a name board, just ask. You'll get your driver's name, car and registration the evening before you travel.

Orpington to Gatwick: Train or Taxi?

Orpington has good trains, so it's worth comparing properly. All times here are typical. Check National Rail on the day, because engineering works and timetable changes are common.

By rail via London Bridge

1. Orpington to London Bridge on a fast Southeastern train: typically 15–20 minutes.
2. Thameslink from London Bridge to Gatwick Airport: typically 30–35 minutes.
3. Door to terminal: typically 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, counting the trip to Orpington station and the wait for your connection.

Gatwick station is next to the South Terminal. For the North Terminal, you take the free inter-terminal shuttle.

When a taxi makes more sense

• You're splitting the cost. The fare is for the car, not per passenger:
  • Saloon (sedan) £68 ÷ 4 = £17.25 each
  • Saloon (sedan) £68 ÷ 2 = £34.50 each
  • MPV £76 ÷ 6 = about £17.83 each
  • 9-seater £109 ÷ 8 = about £17.63 each
  • You've got luggage. Changing at London Bridge with suitcases, a buggy or ski bags means lifts, crowds and platform changes. By car, the bags go in the boot outside your house and come out at the terminal.
  • Your flight is early. For a 06:00 departure you need to be at Gatwick around 04:00, and a train journey with a change at London Bridge is hard to time that early. Our fare doesn't go up for early starts.
  • You land late. If a delay makes you miss a good connection home, you're stuck. We follow your flight, and your free hour of waiting starts when you land.
  • You don't live near the station. From Farnborough, Chelsfield or Green Street Green you'd need a lift to Orpington station first. A taxi picks you up at your door.

If you're on your own with hand luggage and travelling in the middle of the day, the train is a good option. For couples with cases, families and groups, or anyone on an early flight, a fixed-fare car is usually easier, and it often costs less per person.

Gatwick pickups across Orpington (BR5/BR6)

We collect from any address in Orpington, including Orpington High Street, Crofton, Chelsfield, Green Street Green and Farnborough. The fare above is the starting price for the BR5/BR6 area; your exact fixed price is confirmed when you book.

Pickups from Orpington station are easy too: give us your train time and the driver meets you outside.

How to book your Orpington to Gatwick Airport taxi

Orpington to Gatwick Airport taxi — questions

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