UK: Ken Livingstone says passengers will be able to afford new charge
The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has warned that airline passengers who drive to Heathrow will face a £5 charge within two years.
The Times reports that Livingstone is planning to raise more than £100 million through the introduction of a toll; the money would be used to build a new railway line linking the west London airport with the City of London. Every day, some 45,000 passengers travel to the airport by private car; workers at Heathrow would be exempt from the fee.
Livingstone said Heathrow has the worst air pollution outside central London, with most of it being caused by private cars. He told the newspaper: “Heathrow is increasingly a business airport so the people can afford it.”
The mayor also predicted that the introduction of such a toll would spell the end for so-called “kiss and fly” drop-offs at the airport, where passengers are dropped off and picked up by their partners or friends. He said: “This is the end of kiss and fly because that will cost you £10 for two journeys.”
