Call to end airport drop-off fees for blue badge holders

"Disabled customers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and not fleeced as soon as they arrive," he said.

All airports offer free drop-off options further from the terminals for all passengers - not just blue badge holders - such as "park and ride" facilities where people can leave their car and take a bus to the airport.

Bristol, Leeds Bradford, and Bournemouth all charge blue badge holders for drop off but allow them to stay for longer than other passengers at a lower fee.

Bristol charges £7 for 40 minutes, Leeds Bradford charges £7 for 60 minutes, and Bournemouth charges £5 for four hours because it said disabled passengers "may require more time".

Only Cardiff, Newcastle, and Stansted charge the same fee with no discount at all.

Cardiff charges £3 for 10 minutes, Newcastle charges £5 for 10 minutes, and Stansted charges £7 for 15 minutes.

Airports UK, which represents the industry, said that the best accessible drop-off for blue badge holders depends on the layout of the airport.

"No one option is ideal at all airports, so to optimise access at each airport the offer will necessarily be different," it said.

It advised passengers to check the airport's website before travelling to identify the best drop-off location.

Jonathan Cassar, 51, from London says the complex nature of online registration means that "disabled people who need to be dropped at terminal cannot be spontaneous as others can".

Heathrow said it had tried to make the blue badge registration process "as simple as possible" and advised anyone who needs registration urgently to get it approved over the phone.

Liverpool said it had introduced online confirmation "to minimise abuse of the blue badge system".