On this site I want to help you to book the best deal and ‘hold your hand’ so you know everything you need to know about parking your car at an Airport Parking Carpark in the UK. This is primarily for ‘off-site’ Airport Parking (which are usually situated near the Airport) as that is my area of expertise. Much of the information will also apply to Airport Parking ‘on-site’ (actually at the Airport).
Choosing your Airport Parking
Your first step is to choose your Airport Parking. I recommend you read the other posts for more details about choosing your Airport Parking depending on your budget and convenience. Here is Cheap Airport Parking and Airport Parking Services, and Meet and Greet. Usually you can get a better deal booking an ‘off-site’ airport parking, but ‘on-site’ is usually more convenient, at a higher price. Most people will look online by searching for something like ‘Best Airport Parking for Heathrow Airport’ and pages of sites will appear.
Compare Airport Parking Services and Prices
On those sites you should be able to do a comparison search on the dates and airport your leaving from. When you do a search a list of Airport Parking companies will appear for you to compare with their services and prices. You need to look at the details carefully before you choose. Once you have chosen, you will need to pay to book your chosen Airport Parking. I always recommend you pay with a credit card as credit cards give more protection than debit cards. Once you have booked and paid you should receive an email from the Airport Parking carpark and the agent it is booked through, confirming your booking.
What you will need at the Airport Parking Carpark
As the person who used to run the office and book in customers arriving at a busy Airport Parking carpark, I have seen it all when it comes to people forgetting or not knowing essential information.
When you book online you will usually have to put in your name, phone number, car registration, number of passengers, dates departing and arriving etc. When you arrive at the carpark you will be asked when you are booked in what Terminal you are leaving from. Obviously most carparks will be taking you to the airport so the bus driver needs to know which Terminal to take you to before he can take you. Make sure it is the correct Terminal because the driver will take you to whichever Terminal you tell the carpark. Some large airport carparks use full size (single deck) buses as opposed to mini buses, these may go to every Terminal and you will need to know which Terminal is the one for your flight.
If you tell the carpark the wrong Terminal you will have to find your way to the correct one. It should be on your paperwork, if you have any, or you can usually look it up online as most airlines use one terminal, but some airlines do use more than one. Many times I have had to look it up for customers who don’t know which Terminal they are leaving from.
Check the location and name of the Airport parking carpark before you leave.
Most customers use satnav or Google Maps to direct them on their journey to the airport carpark, which is usually OK. But sometimes they can and do get it wrong. I had many occasions when a customer had put the correct address and postcode into the satnav and it took them to the wrong place! They would realise they were at the wrong place and I had to guide them in on the phone.
We even had customers who went to the wrong airport carpark and booked in with them! I rang them asking where they were, and they were at the airport? They were wondering why they had to pay again! They had effectively booked and paid TWICE, at two different carparks because they arrived at the wrong carpark and didn’t realise!
Allow MORE than enough of travel time to get there.
I can not stress this enough. Airport Parking carparks should have no problem with you arriving early, even if it is hours before the time you have booked. I can not count how many customers got stuck in traffic, or there was an accident on the motorway, and they are close to missing their flight! Allow MORE than enough time to get there.
Your holiday is meant to be enjoyable so don’t start with a super stressful experience of potentially missing your flight! Think how much time if the motorway is closed, or there is an accident? You might think this is unlikely, but I saw it NEARLY EVERY DAY! Traffic problems happen every day and it could just be that it is on your route to the airport carpark when it happens! The further you are away from the airport the more important this is. Many people drive down from Scotland to fly from Manchester, which is a long drive. Some drive down the night before and stay in a hotel for one night to be sure. There are lots of hotels around airports and some have reasonable rates.
Check your car before leaving
It is important to check your car a day or two before leaving so there is not something that might cause a breakdown. Check the tyres, oil, water, and if there is any unusual noises, I would get them checked out. Some customers break down on the way to the airport carpark and some have missed their flight. If your car has a serious problem it is best to use a different car. If you are going to use a different car, contact the airport carpark in advance. Inform them you have changed the car you will be arriving in, and give the registration number of the car.
It is also worth having a good look at your car for scratches and dents when you arrive at the carpark. This is particularly important if it is a ‘Park and Ride’ service, where you leave your car key. When the service involves leaving your key, there is a good chance your car will be moved to a reserve carpark while you are gone.
Take photos or Video
The guys that move cars do it as quickly as possible and the cars are often parked almost bumper to bumper. This can sometimes lead to scratches and bumps to cars, especially if the cars are moved when it is dark. Some customers take photos or a video of their car when they arrive at the carpark, and check the car on their return. If there is any damage to your car and you don’t notice it until you have left the carpark, you will not be able to blame the carpark.
There is also the possibility that cars can get damaged by other customers. We had an example of that where a customer came back and even though he had his keys (so it had obviously not been moved). The corner of his car was scratched and it had white paint from another car. A white car had been parked next to his. It had obviously caught the corner of his car when leaving. If a person has not driven a car for a week or two, the most likely time to make a mistake would be in the first few minutes of driving.
Don’t forget your passport!
This might seem like an obvious one but people do forget their passport. The same applies to anything else that is important such as medication, or paperwork etc. There is often not time to turn back and get things you have forgot so double check everything.
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