London City Airport has long held out against charging for dropping off passengers at the East London Airport. Well, that’s changing, with the airport planning to implement a drop-off charge.
London City Airport will introduce a drop-off charge for all vehicles by the end of the year, bringing it into line with all other major UK airports, which already operate similar schemes.
At this time, the airport has not confirmed how much the drop-off fee will be. Blue badge holders will be exempt from the fee.
According to the airport, the charge will help London City meet its wider sustainability goals by reducing the number of vehicles travelling to and from the airport, supporting efforts to lower congestion, reduce emissions and improve air quality in the surrounding area. This will comprise one of the measures that the airport is employing to move towards the Mayor’s target of 80% of journeys by walking, cycling or public transport by 2041.
More than two-thirds of passengers already travel via public and sustainable transport, such as the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – the highest percentage of any UK airport – with only around 10% using a car.
Prior to the charge being introduced on licensed taxis (black cabs), Transport for London (TfL) will conduct its annual public consultation on fares and within that will include a proposal from London City that the drop-off charge is formally included in the meter, in line with TfL’s agreement with other major London airports, meaning black cab drivers will not bear the cost of the charge.
Too Good to Last
London City Airport is one of the last major airports that has a free drop-off option for its passengers.
Given that most of its passengers are coming to the airport via the DLR or Local Buses to reach the airport, the impact won’t be as much as it could be, with the biggest impact on those who are coming further than public transport can reach, or those coming via taxis/rideshares and those who are being dropped off.
The big question in all this is, how much the drop-off charge will be, and if a “free” option will be provided. Given that there’s minimal off-airport parking at London City Airport, this could be interesting (although in theory, you could try getting dropped off in the local roads or near the Travelodge near the airport).
Or you could just use public transport to reach the airport from a DLR station nearby.
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I flew LCY-DUB on Monday. It was *awful*.
I Ubered from East London, and it was 30 minutes door to door.
At the airport:
– Long lines at security (20-25minutes just to get through)
– No where to sit.
– No lounges
– No good food
Never ever again. I’ll gladly take the train to Heathrow next time, and use a real airport.