Free planning tool · Not a taxi
What time should I leave to collect someone from Stansted?
Live arrival time + live traffic from your postcode.
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Collecting at Stansted
The dearest short wait in the country
Short Stay is £13 for up to 30 minutes — more than three times Gatwick’s. It is the closest to the terminal, and it is the reason arriving at the right time rather than early actually saves money here.
Express Set Down bills you later
There is no barrier: cameras read your plate and you pay online by midnight the following day. Stansted does not publish that price on its pick-up page, so we do not quote one. Maximum stay is 30 minutes.
The free car park is for drop-offs
We last checked on 21 September 2026; Stansted’s own pick-up page is the only place the charges are current.
This is
A calculator for the person doing the collecting. Free, no account, no booking.
This isn’t
An airport taxi, Uber or meet-and-greet. We never take payment for a journey.
Stansted questions
What time should I leave to collect someone from Stansted?
It depends on the flight and on your traffic, which is what the planner above works out. As a rule, allow for the passenger to get off the aircraft, clear the border and collect bags before they reach the kerb — around 20 minutes for a domestic or Irish arrival, and longer after a long-haul flight — then add your own drive time on top.
Where do you pick someone up at Stansted?
Short Stay Green and Blue are closest to the terminal and cost £13 for up to 30 minutes. Express Set Down is barrierless — cameras read your plate and you pay online by midnight the next day — with a 30-minute maximum. Stansted's own pick-up page is the only place those prices are current.
Can I wait in the free Mid Stay area?
Stansted lists the Mid Stay free area for drop-offs and runs a free shuttle from it. We have not been able to confirm that collections are allowed there, so we do not tell people to use it for one. If you want certainty, use Short Stay or Express Set Down.
Does FlightPickup arrange the car?
No. It is a free planning tool and nothing more. We do not operate vehicles, employ drivers or take payment for journeys — we tell you what time to set off, and you drive.