Airport shockers: what eating at the airport really costs
The holiday starts at the airport, and so does the overspending. Here are the biggest airport bills we could find published, the dearest single items, and what it really costs to feed a family before the flight.
The biggest airport bills
Breakfast for a family of three
Manchester Terminal 3, Trattoria Milano. A £16 big breakfast and toast at £1.60 a slice.
Manchester Evening News, Aug 2024Three mains and three drinks
Manchester Terminal 2, the new Wetherspoon.
Manchester Evening News, Oct 2026One traveller's snack basket
Gatwick WHSmith: dried mango at £6, water and sweets for a long-haul flight.
Mirror, Apr 2026Oats, a coffee and a juice
Manchester Terminal 2: the juice alone was £9.20.
Manchester Evening News, Oct 2025Brunch and a Guinness, in Spain
Alicante airport's Wetherspoon: cheaper than most UK airport breakfasts.
Glasgow Live, May 2026Published reports only. We don't print bills we can't trace to a published source, so a few bigger figures shared on social media are left out.
The dearest single items
The airport mark-up
| Item | At the airport | On the high street | Mark-up | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pret tuna baguette, Heathrow | £5.90 | £3.99 | +48% | Independent, Jun 2024 |
| Evian 750ml, WHSmith | about £4 | £1.80 | about +120% | Daily Mail, Sep 2026 |
| Polos, WHSmith | £2.69 | £1.10 at Boots | +145% | Daily Mail, Sep 2026 |
| Walkers crisps, WHSmith | £2.69 | £1.30 at Boots | +107% | Daily Mail, Sep 2026 |
| Snack basket, Manchester and Gatwick | £38.72 | £19.62 at a supermarket | about double | MoneySuperMarket, Nov 2025 |
| Boots meal deal | £4.99 | £3.99 | +25% | Student Beans, Aug 2026 |
Feeding a family of four before the flight
| Option | Cost for 4 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked breakfast at the airside Wetherspoon 2 traditional breakfasts, 2 small breakfasts for the children, 2 coffees, 2 soft drinks | £59.30 | Birmingham Airport menu, 2025 |
| Cooked breakfast at Giraffe 2 breakfast plates, 2 kids' breakfasts, 2 flat whites, 2 juices | £53.50 | Birmingham Airport menu, Oct 2025 |
| Premium meal deals at WHSmith 4 × £8.99, Manchester | £35.96 | TravelSupermarket, May 2026 |
| Meal deals at Boots airside 4 × £4.99 | £19.96 | Student Beans, Aug 2026 |
| Supermarket meal deals on the way 4 × £3.85 at Tesco with Clubcard | £15.40 | Student Beans, Aug 2026; Grocery Gazette, Oct 2026 |
Breakfast prices from Birmingham Airport's own published menus, autumn 2025; no airport children's menu is published for Wetherspoon, so the children's plates are small breakfasts.
A Premier Inn breakfast near the airport is from £10.99, and up to two under-16s eat free with each paying adult. Premier Inn, Oct 2026 Ask the hotel first if you are not staying.
An airport pint
- Liverpool: £7.94 average, the dearest
- Bristol: £7.53 average
- Stansted and Heathrow: £6.45 average, the cheapest
- Cheapest single pint: £5.20 Bud Light at the Wetherspoon pubs in Stansted, Gatwick, Birmingham and Edinburgh
Averages from idealo via Express, Jun 2026; cheapest pint from WildPacks, 2025.
Eat before security
Most big airports have a supermarket or a cheaper café before security. Food can go through; drinks depend on the airport.
| Airport | Before security |
|---|---|
| Manchester | M&S Simply Food (24 hours), Greggs, Pret and Costa in Terminal 2 arrivals |
| Birmingham | M&S Simply Food in arrivals (24 hours), SPAR, Greggs; McDonald's drive-thru at Car Park 6 |
| Bristol | Burger King, Caffè Nero, Starbucks, WHSmith before security |
| Newcastle | Greggs in the check-in hall (24 hours); the airport says its food can go through security |
| Liverpool | Starbucks in the check-in hall, Greggs in arrivals |
| Gatwick South | The Beehive Wetherspoon (from 04:00), Greggs, M&S before security |
| Gatwick North | M&S, Boots, Starbucks before security |
| Stansted | M&S Simply Food in the arrivals hall |
| Luton | Sainsbury's Local before and after security |
| East Midlands | Greggs in arrivals, Costa before security |
| Leeds Bradford | Greggs by Check-in Hall A, Caffè Nero in Hall B |
| Edinburgh | M&S Food and Burger King before security |
| Glasgow | M&S Simply Food before security (05:00–23:00), Greggs, Starbucks |
From each airport's shop and restaurant listings, October 2026. airport websites, Oct 2026
Drinks and water
- Up to 2 litres through security: Birmingham, Bristol, Gatwick, Edinburgh. Shropshire Star, Aug 2026
- 100ml rule still applies: Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Stansted, Luton, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Glasgow. Finish the meal-deal drink before security and bring the bottle empty. Shropshire Star, Aug 2026
- Free water: every one of the airports above has refill points after security; Manchester's outlets will also refill bottles. APH, Jul 2026
The twist: Alicante airport is cheaper
The Wetherspoon at Alicante airport, opened in February 2026, charges €4.95–€7.95 a pint. Independent, Feb 2026 A brunch and a Guinness came to €20.45. Glasgow Live, May 2026 Save the treat for the flight home.
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Sources
- Manchester Evening News, £65 Terminal 3 breakfast, 10 Aug 2024
- Manchester Evening News, new Terminal 2 Wetherspoon, Oct 2026
- Mirror, £58.70 Gatwick WHSmith basket, 24 Apr 2026
- Manchester Evening News, Terminal 2 juice bar, 19 Oct 2025
- Manchester Evening News, Great Northern Market prices, 12 Feb 2026
- Manchester Evening News, every Manchester Airport restaurant tried, Jul 2024
- Jack's Flight Club full English airport index, upd. 9 Oct 2025
- AOL on the Velloy airport pint and prosecco index, Apr 2024
- Daily Mail, WHSmith airport prices, 12 Sep 2026
- Independent, airport food price hikes, 17 Jun 2024
- MoneySuperMarket, airport vs supermarket snacks, 4 Nov 2025
- Student Beans, supermarket meal deals compared, 11 Aug 2026
- Grocery Gazette, Tesco meal deal, 6 Oct 2026
- Birmingham Airport, Wetherspoon menus, autumn 2025
- Birmingham Airport, Giraffe menus, Oct 2025
- TravelSupermarket, airport rip-offs, May 2026
- Premier Inn breakfast, Oct 2026
- Express on idealo airport pint prices, 10 Jun 2026
- WildPacks, cheapest UK airport pint, May 2025
- Shropshire Star, airport liquids rules 2026, 17 Aug 2026
- APH, free water at UK airports, Jul 2026
- Independent, Alicante Wetherspoon opens, 9 Feb 2026
- Glasgow Live, Alicante airport Wetherspoon, 31 May 2026
- UK airports' own shop and restaurant pages, Oct 2026
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