Why shopping at UK airports can save you money

Most of us assume, with good reason, that everything will be more expensive at the airport. However, our research has found there are some significant exceptions.

Some products, such as bottles of spirits, make-up and perfume, are much cheaper if you buy at Duty Free shops or onboard the plane rather than on the high street.

We looked at prices onboard British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair flights – as well as at World Duty Free airport stores – and compared them with the supermarkets and Boots to see where the biggest bargains can be found.

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Wine and spirits cheaper at Duty Free or onboard

Identical bottles of spirits can be significantly cheaper if you buy them on board your flight, or at the ubiquitous airport store World Duty Free. 

After Brexit the government said that, thanks to new rules on Duty Free shopping, travellers should save ‘£2.23 for a bottle of wine, £2.86 for a bottle of champagne or prosecco, £11.50 for a litre of spirits and 38p for a can of beer’.

When we first looked in early 2022 the savings weren't quite that high. But repeating the research in 2023, we found that – compared with the average supermarket price – a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey was about £12 cheaper with some airlines and a bottle of pink gin was over £11 cheaper at World Duty Free stores at UK airports. 

A litre bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey was £20 from both easyJet and Jet2 but the average supermarket price was £32 in August 2023.

Gordon’s Premium Pink Gin was £15 with British Airways and £12.89 at World Duty Free stores but £24 on average at the supermarket.

Duty Free rules apply to alcohol and to tobacco – but nothing else.

Save money on perfume and cosmetics at the airport

However, it’s not just where there are tax advantages that you can make a saving by buying on your travels.

We looked at some fragrances and make-up commonly sold on flights and found big savings compared with the cost at Boots on the high street.

One bottle of women’s fragrance – Carolina Herrera's Good Girl – was 42% cheaper on an easyJet or Jet2 flight than the price shown on the Boots website – a saving of £36. Prices vary from airline to airline (the same bottle of perfume was more expensive on BA than other airlines we looked at–- but still £17 cheaper than Boots). 

World Duty Free stores at the airport can also be much cheaper than the High Street. A bottle of Clarins Double Serum skin cream cost 16% less in a World Duty Free store than Boots – a saving of £14.

However, if you're planning to buy on your flight or at the airport then do your research first. You can check the prices before you travel as airlines publish their inflight shopping brochures online. 

Buy at UK airports rather than abroad

Perhaps more surprisingly, UK airports can be cheaper for certain products than those overseas. When we looked in 2022 we found big savings for make-up and alcohol at the ubiquitous World Duty Free stores – found in many airports around the world. When we checked three products again in 2023, the price differences were less but the UK still came out well for the fragrance and make-up. Clarins Double Serum skin cream was around £11 cheaper in London than New York, although it was even cheaper in Australia.

What are the rules for duty-free shopping?

After Brexit the rules changed on what tax you’ll pay for shopping at the airport, on your flight or when bringing goods home from abroad. You can no longer fill the boot of your car with bottles on a ferry from France, but there are still fairly generous allowances for bringing alcohol into the UK from abroad. 

You can also bring gifts or products for personal use with a value of up to £390, without paying tax. See the government rules on allowances for bringing goods into the UK. Brexit also made it possible for British holidaymakers to save money on purchases in the EU, thanks to tax refunds. However, there is often a catch. See more on how to save money when shopping in Europe. 

How we checked prices

We looked at prices in September 2023. For alcohol the supermarket price was based on a four-week period from six UK supermarkets, according to independent price comparison data.