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Best and worst airport parking
Our survey of thousands of customers tells you the best – and the cheapest – on and off-site parking options at UK airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester and Stansted
Airport parking has never been so expensive. If you were foolish enough to turn up without a booking at a Heathrow short-stay car park this year, you’d face a heart-stopping parking bill of £616 on returning from a week away.
When Which? Travel surveyed over 3,000 people about parking at the UK’s biggest airports, we found that off-site (third-party) providers were not only usually cheaper but that the service was better, too.
Off-site car parks were the best-rated at Birmingham Airport, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport and Manchester Airport. By contrast, pricier official on-site options took nine of the bottom 10 car parks in our table.
But are off-site providers safe? We’ve investigated shady unregulated parking companies dumping cars in muddy fields, joyriding them for hundreds of miles and taking no responsibility for damage. Some providers even stole from our car.
It’s essential, then, to only use names and brands you can trust with your car.
Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent third-party providers of both Park and Ride (where you take a bus to the airport) and Meet and Greet (where you leave your car with a chauffeur at the terminal) services. Our survey of thousands of readers and members of the public will help you choose a car park you can trust.
Always compare parking options to make sure you get the best price. You can browse by airport at Holiday Extras
Best off-site airport parking brands
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER | 93% | LBA | PR | |||||
| 86% | GLA, EDI | PR | ||||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER | 79% | LGW, MAN | MG/PR | |||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER | 74% | LGW | PR | - | ||||
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER | 74% | BHX, LGW, LHR, STN | MG/PR | |||||
| 73% | LGW, LTN, BHX | PR | ||||||
| 73% | LGW, LHR, LTN | PR |
Based on an online survey of 1,034 Which? members and the public in May/June 2024. Sample size in brackets. A dash (-) indicates too few responses for a rating. Airports served BHX Birmingham international, EMA East Midlands, EDI Edinburgh, LBA Leeds Bradford, LGW Gatwick, GLA Glasgow, LHR Heathrow, LTN Luton, MAN Manchester, STN Stansted. Customer score combines overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.
The off-site airport parking brands that Which? recommends
Our Which? Recommended Providers aren’t just the best rated. They all use ParkMark accredited car parks, meaning their sites have passed a police risk assessment.
Sentinel Car Park – 93%
Sentinel’s park and ride service, just half a mile from Leeds Bradford airport, is streets ahead of its competitors.
It’s the only operator with five stars for ease of parking, transfer time (2 minutes), comfort (including free tea/coffee on arrival) and security (it’s a purpose-built floodlit compound).
Sentinel prides itself on its 24-hour customer service and comprehensive refund policy – ‘if you don’t park you don’t pay’ – and you can even get your car cleaned and MOT’d while you’re away.
Book your Leeds Bradford airport parking with Sentinel
APH - best parking brand at London Gatwick and Manchester Airports – 79%
An independent, family-owned company, APH has been providing airport parking services since 1980.
It operates its own Park and Ride and Meet and Greet car parks serving Gatwick and Manchester airports, which were rated highly by customers in almost every category.
As one customer raved, ‘I have been using APH for many years and have always been more than happy with the whole process. It’s easy, friendly, efficient and affordable’.
Book your Gatwick/Manchester airport parking with APH
Cophall Parking at Gatwick Airport – 74%
One of just three companies to offer four-star value for money, Cophall is the no-frills Gatwick-only arm of Maple Parking.
Its ParkMark accredited site, with 24-hour security, is a 15-minute bus ride from the terminals.
Pickup is ‘on-demand’ but customers described the process as ‘quick and efficient’. They were also impressed by the ‘personal service’, which includes ‘friendly bus drivers loading and unloading luggage at either end of the journey’.
Book your Gatwick airport parking with Cophall Parking
I Love Meet and Greet – 74%
Customers loved the convenience and security offered by I Love Meet and Greet.
Drop-off and pickup are at the airport forecourt and you are met by fully insured, uniformed drivers, who take your car to a secure car park equipped with 8ft fences and electric gates.
‘It really is the most convenient and efficient service – especially if you’re in a rush’, one customer told us. It also offers Park and Ride at Gatwick and Stansted.
Book airport parking with I Love Meet and Greet
Best airport parking at Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and more
Off-site parking is often the cheapest option, but it’s not always the best. That’s why we asked thousands of you to tell us about your parking experiences at the UK’s 12 biggest airports.
| Car park | Customer Score | Off or on-site | Time/ transport to terminal | Indicative price per week | Customer service | Ease of finding car park/drop-off point | Ease of finding parking space | Car park security | Transport to/from terminal | Transfer time to/from terminal | Comfort of transport | Condition of car on return | Value for money |
| BELFAST INTERNAT'L | |||||||||||||
| Long Stay (40) | 64% | On | 6min walk | £62 | - | ||||||||
| BIRMINGHAM | |||||||||||||
| Airparks (46) | 74% | Off | 3-14min bus | £115 | |||||||||
| Mid stay: Car park 5 (67) | 68% | On | 5-10min walk | £120 | |||||||||
| Short stay multi-storey: Car parks 1-3 (44) | 68% | On | 1min walk | £150 | - | ||||||||
| Car park 7 (46) | 67% | On | 10-15min bus | £110 |
Sample size in brackets. A dash (-) means too few responses for a rating. Indicative price per week is based on the last week of August 2024, checked in June 2024. Where there was more than one price, we've shown the cheapest. Transfer times from operators' websites. Customer scores combines overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.
How we researched airport parking
In May/June 2024, we collated results from 3,161 Which? Connect members and members of the general public who completed an online survey telling us about 4,394 experiences of parking at the UK's 12 biggest airports. We only reported on parking options when we received at least 30 responses.