London City Airport has introduced a minimum £8 drop-off charge in an attempt to cut the number of vehicles travelling to and from the airport.
The charge, which came into force on Monday, allows drivers to wait up to five minutes outside the airport. Each extra minute will be charged at £1, up to a maximum of ten minutes in total.
Blue badge holders will be exempt from the fee, as well as London taxi drivers until a TfL consultation finishes at the end of March. The airport has proposed the charge will be added to the meter so passengers will pay the bill.
“London City Airport is the most centrally located airport in the capital and the closest for over half of all Londoners – making it the quickest, easiest and most affordable to reach,” the airport said.
“More than two-thirds of passengers already travel via public and sustainable transport, such as the Docklands Light Railway – the highest percentage of any UK airport – with only around 10 per cent using a car.”
The airport, in the Royal Docks, said it had contributed to the cost of new DLR trains, although the introduction of these has been held up because of braking issues.
Since the Silvertown Tunnel opened in April, the airport has been served by the 129 bus from Lewisham, Greenwich town centre and North Greenwich station.
Drivers can pay the fee on the airport’s website.
London City is the last of the capital’s main airports to introduce a charge. Luton, Stansted and Heathrow all charge a minimum £7 for drop-offs, while there is a £10 fee at Gatwick.
Last year the government gave the go-ahead for controversial expansion plans at the airport, although upheld a ban on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning flights.
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.