• November 3, 2021

Heathrow Airport introduces new £5 charge for passengers to be dropped off

LONDON Nov 3: Heathrow Airport has introduced a new drop off free for anyone travelling to the airport by car. Passengers will now have to pay £5 to be dropped off at the terminal, no matter how quickly they depart.

The drop-off charge, which came into effect on November 1, makes Heathrow the last major UK airport to introduce such fees and brings it into line with both Gatwick and Luton airports.

Drivers will have to pay the charge no matter how briefly they stop to drop off a passenger. Those who fail to pay will be given an £80 parking charge notice that reduces to £40 if paid within 14 days.

First proposed in 2020, the charges will be managed using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) in a similar way to the London Congestion Charge and Dart Charge schemes.

Drivers can pay the £5 charge in advance, on the day or by midnight the following day. Payments can be made online, by creating an account here and setting up automatic payments, or over the phone. Regular airport users can register for a pre-pay account.

To pay online, drivers need to visit www.heathrow.com/dropoff while, to pay by phone, drivers will need to call 0330 0085600.

Heathrow car parks will remain available, and normal charges will apply while a free drop-off option is available at Heathrow’s long stay car parks.

Heathrow’s long-stay car parks offer 30 minutes’ free parking for those who want to avoid the new charges, but they will need to allow around 20 minutes to travel to their terminals via Heathrow’s shuttle bus services.

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