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Aberdeen Airport has been named Scotland’s most expensive and among the UK’s priciest for a pint before you fly.
For many Brits, a holiday or work trip doesn’t officially start until the first airport pint or glass of wine is ordered.
Now, new research, carried out by Good Business Travel, has uncovered that the much-loved airport ritual is quietly adding hundreds of pounds to business travel expense claims.
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Some UK airports are now charging close to £16 for a single drink, with Aberdeen found to be pricing its most expensive pints above the £8 mark, with wine topping £9 for passengers.
The corporate travel specialists analysed the price of a pint of beer and a glass of white wine across the UK’s 20 busiest airports, uncovering stark price differences that could quietly inflate the cost of business trips.
Manchester Airport topped the list for wine, charging up to £15.75 for one glass – a reminder that airport bars can come with a serious premium.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, Newcastle and Cardiff emerged as the top three priciest airports for beer, with travellers paying £8.39 for a single pint.
Aberdeen ranked well above its Scottish counterparts, with Glasgow and Edinburgh both charging £7.40 for their most expensive pints.
The UK airports with the most expensive bars
| Airport | Most expensive pint | Most expensive glass of white wine |
| Liverpool | £8.39 | £14.30 |
| Newcastle | £8.39 | £11.99 |
| Cardiff | £8.39 | £11.99 |
| Bristol | £8.29 | £12.20 |
| Leeds Bradford | £8.29 | £11.39 |
| Aberdeen | £8.10 | £9.00 |
| Belfast International | £8.00 | £10.49 |
| Manchester | £7.80 | £15.75 |
| London City | £7.79 | £14.19 |
| East Midlands | £7.75 | £10.70 |
| London Luton | £7.65 | £10.25 |
| Belfast City | £7.50 | £9.75 |
| Glasgow | £7.40 | £9.00 |
| London Heathrow | £7.40 | £7.70 |
| London Gatwick | £7.40 | £7.55 |
| Edinburgh | £7.40 | £7.55 |
| London Stansted | £7.40 | £7.40 |
| Southampton | £7.20 | £11.39 |
| Bournemouth | £7.20 | £9.60 |
| Birmingham | £7.05 | £7.55 |
While the capital is often blamed for costly refreshments, some of the steepest prices are found elsewhere in the UK, with Manchester Airport charging a whopping 112% more for a glass of wine than the cheapest airport in the study.
Natasha Inglis, Implementation and Client Success Director at Good Business Travel, commented: “One of the biggest surprises from our research was that the UK’s busiest airports don’t always charge the most. Heathrow and Gatwick, which see huge volumes of corporate travellers, actually offer some of the cheaper pints.
“Instead, we found that several regional airports consistently charge higher prices, showing that drink costs aren’t driven purely by size or footfall – and that businesses need to look beyond flight prices alone when managing travel spend.”
Delays, early arrivals and long connection times often mean travellers spend extended periods in airport terminals.
Those extra hours frequently translate into additional spending at airport bars – one of the most commonly expensed, yet often underestimated, costs of business travel.
Natasha added: “Brits genuinely love an airport drink – whether they’re travelling for work or leisure – but our research shows just how expensive that habit can be, especially for businesses managing multiple trips every month.
“Good Business Travel booked international travel for nearly 1,800 people this January. When you multiply a £7–£9 drink across all employees, the potential cost to businesses becomes clear.”
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