Massive airport parking rip-off
HOLIDAYMAKERS are being ripped off with sky-high airport parking charges.
Prices can vary from less than £20 to nearly £160 for one week’s parking.
Coming at a time when the pound is weak against other currencies, the charges could make the difference between a family enjoying a foreign holiday or being forced to stay at home.
At Heathrow, the country’s busiest airport, the dearest on-site parking, complete with full valet service, costs £157 for seven nights.
In other parts of the country off-airport parking can cost less than £20 for a week. Even the cheapest on-airport parking, at Belfast, is only £23 a week.
Richard Headland, editor of Which? Car, the magazine that produced the figures, said: “The cost of airport parking is probably the last thing on your mind as you plan your summer holiday, but some prices are sky-high.”
Travellers should shop around to avoid the most expensive fees and leave themselves with more money to enjoy their holiday, the experts advise.
The price comparison website Travelsupermarket.com this year exposed a huge price gulf between car parking fees for passengers who book in advance and those who turn up and pay on the day.
Bob Atkinson, travel expert for Travelsupermarket.com, said: “Don’t throw your money away on holiday extras such as parking. Be savvy and pre-book to save up to hundreds of pounds and use that for the things you want to spend money on, not just a piece of tarmac.”
Which? researchers, comparing parking prices for one week at the UK’s 15 busiest airports, warned: “As you plan this year’s holiday, booking airport parking is probably the last thing on your mind. But prices vary hugely, and so can the level of customer care.”
James Fremantle, industry affairs manager of the Air Transport Users Council, said car parking services were often contracted out to independent operators. He warned: “It is not regulated in any way, so whatever we or Which? think, they can charge what they want for car parking.”
Even paying extra for a meet-and-greet service is not guaranteed to take the strain out of a journey, researchers found. They said passengers could still face lengthy waits for their cars after a long trip.
Some returning travellers had even found their cars had flat batteries or gained more miles on the clock during their absence, researchers said.
Smaller, regional airports tend to offer the cheapest on-site parking at about £30 or less for a week, although Which? said Southampton offered no alternative to its pricey £45.90 official long-stay “supersaver” option.
Luton quoted £72.99 for seven days in its on-airport long-stay deal which could be reduced to £54.99 with its “supersaver”.
A spokesman for Heathrow owner BAA, which also operates Southampton, Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, said: “BAA’s rates start from £5.99 per day with no hidden credit card or booking fees and offer customers safe, secure and convenient parking nearest to the terminal. Our commitment to passengers was demonstrated recently when all BAA airports waived overstay charges for passengers delayed as a result of the Icelandic ash cloud disruption.”
A Luton Airport spokesman insisted its car park charges were fair and reasonable, adding: “The long-stay parking price quoted is cheaper than that of an off-site operator.
“Our long-term car park offers one of the shortest transfer times to the terminal building of any London airport, an average of under seven minutes. It is not comparable to other car parks identified.”
The high parking charges come as the cost of holidays abroad rises because of the weak pound. Sterling was worth about 1.46 dollars and about 1.16 euros on the money markets yesterday.
