London Heathrow to charge for passenger drop off from October

Dhaka: London Heathrow Airport will be charging vehicles GBP 5 per visit for dropping off passengers at the terminal forecourts. The GBP 5 charge will apply to designated drop off zones located outside the airport terminals.

Heathrow also said the charge to be applicable for all vehicles entering the forecourts, with the exception of a few – blue badge holders, and emergency vehicles.

The charges will be in effect from October 21.

However, the car parkings at the airport will remain open for normal charges.

Also, the drop off charge will not apply to passenger pick-ups, which is not permitted at the forecourts of the terminal anyway.

The move follows the airport’s attempt to improve air quality, and reduce congestion.

“We have always said that we would consider introducing a form of road user charging and several other approaches to improve air quality and reduce congestion at Heathrow in our 2.0 Sustainability Blueprint and in the Airport Expansion Consultation documentation,” said Heathrow in a statement.

The new policy is part of the airport’s updated Surface Access Strategy, and sustainable travel plans. After review, Heathrow expressed that the airport is at a loss of GBP 5 million a day following the coronavirus pandemic.