London Heathrow airport to introduce a passenger drop off charge from October

According to the London Heathrow Airport, vehicles dropping off passengers at the terminal forecourts would be charged £5 per visit. The £5 charge will be for designated drop off zones that are situated outside the airport terminals. These forecourts are the quickest way to drop off passengers at the airport.
Heathrow has also announced that this charge will be applicable for all vehicles that are entering the forecourts, with the exception of a few. The exception will be made for blue badge holders, and emergency vehicles. The charges will be applied from October 21.

The car parkings at the airport will remain open for normal charges. Moreover, the drop off charge will not be applicable for passenger pick ups, which in anyway is not permitted at the forecourts of the terminal.
The airport has introduced this new charge in order to improve air quality, and reduce congestion. According to a statement released by Heathrow, “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.”

The new plan is part of the airport’s updated Surface Access Strategy, and sustainable travel plans. The airport said that after reviewing the airport it was found that it was at a loss of GBP 5 million a day due to the ongoing pandemic.