£5 drop-off charge lands at Heathrow after Covid losses

HEATHROW will charge £5 to drop off loved ones from October in an attempt to recoup losses from the pandemic.

All private vehicles, including taxis and other hire cars, are to be subject to the additional fee in the forecourt areas outside the airport’s five terminals.

Heathrow will expect the charge, which will be monitored via cameras reading number plates, to be paid online or by phone.

It follows Gatwick and Manchester airports in introducing similar charges, with £5 drop-off schemes introduced at Gatwick’s north and south terminals earlier this year.

“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,” a spokesman for the airport said.

“We updated these plans after reviews were conducted of all airport projects in light of the collapse in passenger numbers experienced at Heathrow due to the impacts of the pandemic and the subsequent loss of £5 million a day.”

Heathrow posted a loss of £2billion in 2020, and was reported in February to have a debt mountain of £20billion after a collapse in business due to Covid.