Hello, it's Thursday the 30th of September and thanks for joining me, Simon Calder, for the latest on travel and destinations from the Green List and the travel desk of the Independent.

Today, Heathrow is the last big UK airport to bring in a drop-off charge.

Could the US bring in a mandatory vaccination rule for airline passengers? And United is separating from 600 staff who've declined to get vaccinated. Of course, this podcast is completely free, as is my weekly travel email. Do sign up at independent.co.uk

forward slash newsletters and you can enjoy it to the fall tomorrow morning at 7.

Nine out of the biggest 10 UK airports have imposed a drop off charge for motorists. The idea is if you want to

take your loved ones, or indeed if you're a taxi driver and you want to drop your customers

off right at the terminal, well, that's going to cost you some money. Until the 1st of November,

well, Heathrow is the one apart. It's always said,

in you come, you can very happily drop off your passengers without charge. Now, there have been plans for an ultra-low emission zone and a Heathrow vehicle access charge, basically a congestion charge type fee,

those have been dropped because instead on the 1st of November, it's going to cost you £5.

Now they're going to be using automatic number plate recognition.

So if you won't see any warning signs, you won't see any barriers,

well, you probably see some warning signs, but basically you have to pay your five pound fee

either in advance or after you've left, but you have to do it pretty quickly. Now, the airport says it's been severely impacted by

the pandemic. This charge will enable us to continue to invest in congestion, reducing surface

access projects and to protect jobs at Heathrow. They say it will also mean that they can reduce airport related traffic. Yes,

you can pay your £5, they say in advance on the day you drop off or by midnight the next day.

If you do not pay, then that's an £80 fine, reduced to £40 if you pay within 14 days. Not everyone has to pay. For example,

if you have a blue badge, then you are entitled to effectively 100% discount. You have to apply for that.

And similarly, black cabs actively licensed with London London taxi and private hire are exempt.

But if you're getting an Uber, well, you will be paying.

If you don't want to pay, well, you can still drop off at the airport's long stay car parks.

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