Christmas holidaymakers urged to book their airport parking in advance to avoid hiking costs this festive season

With many families planning to head off on holiday this Christmas, one of the UK’s leading comparison sites for airport parking prices is urging holidaymakers to plan and book where to leave their vehicle in advance.

Research from the parking comparison site Airport Parking Shop shows that booking a space two weeks in advance could save travellers hundreds of pounds. Savings varied depending on whether the car park was located ‘onsite’ or ‘offsite’ at the airport, according to the data.

The review of Christmas 2023 prices found that a seven-day booking at an onsite car park at Stansted Airport almost doubled when booked the day before travelling compared to if booked two weeks prior (£310.45 vs £163.80).

At Gatwick Airport, a saving of £89.53 could be made by booking an onsite parking space two weeks in advance (£231.28 vs £141.75), while at Glasgow Airport, travellers could save £81.20 if they booked their space two weeks in advance (£158.55 vs £77.35).

However, the most expensive seven-day booking at an onsite car park was at Heathrow Airport which cost £547.82. If it was booked the day before travelling and £521.99 if booked two weeks prior.

The cheapest was at Luton Airport, which cost £110.32 for seven days at an onsite car park if booked the day before, or £87.15 if booked two weeks in advance.

Savings could also be made if holidaymakers chose an offsite car park. These can be affiliated with the airport or run by third parties and travellers are taken by bus from the car park to the terminals.

The biggest difference between the average seven-day onsite and offsite costs was at Aberdeen Airport. Here an offsite car park cost £48.51 for seven days, compared to onsite which was £101.15. The next was at Heathrow where travellers saved £50.75 if they booked offsite (£171.64 vs £120.89).

Looking ahead to this festive season, Airport Parking Shop’s data shows customers can save money on last year’s prices if they hurry and book soon. The biggest saving is at Birmingham Airport where the average daily price for a car parking space during the Christmas period is 17% cheaper if booked now, compared to the cost at the same time last year.

Robert Lelukiewicz, Head of Customer Service at Airport Parking Shop, said: “Parking at airports is one of the hidden expenses of going on holiday. However, we know at Christmas time, airports hike up parking costs even further to take advantage of the festive rush. Every year, nearly 10% of travellers leave parking to the last-minute meaning they’re missing out on savings. We urge all holidaymakers to make their parking plans as early as possible to avoid higher prices.”

Airport Parking Shop is one of the UK’s leading comparison sites for airport parking prices. Its quote engine lists prices from all the top providers, at all major UK airports, allowing users to make an informed decision without spending hours comparing prices across different sites.

Established in 2003, Airport Parking Shop works with eight major airport parking providers and over the last 20 years, it has helped hundreds of thousands of people to get the best airport parking deal and published over 75,000 car park reviews.