Rip-off airport car parks hit families with price hikes

Rip-off airport car parks hit families with price hikes

Airports are hitting families with inflated car park fees during the school holidays.

Heathrow charges up to £4 more a day from July 21 to August 28 â€" and over Easter and Christmas.

Stansted’s fees are £2 higher from May to September. The rip-off means travellers can pay more to park than to fly.

Those who fail to book in advance face paying premiums of up to 400 per cent. In extreme cases, that equates to a difference of £700.

‘It never fails to surprise and annoy me how airports can find endless ways to squeeze cash out of their long-suffering customers,’ said Martyn James, of online complaints service Resolver.

Heathrow charges up to £4 more a day from July 21 to August 28 â€" and over Easter and Christmas. Pictured: Heathrow Airport car park

‘Such high charges do not seem to reflect the service offered.’ At Heathrow, long-stay parking costs £27.30 for the first day and £21.60 thereafter. But in the holidays this jumps to £31.40 and £24.80. A 15-day stay would cost £378.60 rather than £329.70 outside peak times.

At Stansted, the summer premium adds £30 to the normal £345 parking bill.

London City Airport imposes huge penalties for failing to book ahead. An eight-day stay between July 29 and August 5 is £88 if you pay in advance but £395 if you just turn up. A spokesman said booking was significantly cheaper because it helped manage demand and keep traffic moving.

Those who fail to book pay twice as much at Heat hrow.

And 15 days in its short-stay facility over the summer is £893 compared with £214 in advance.

Flights for two adults and two children to Alicante at the same time would cost only £782.

Fortnight stay cost me £403 

Pictured: Ruth Smith, who was charged £403 for her two-week stay in Heathrow car park 

Ruth Smith had a massive parking bill following a two-week trip to Australia.

The 60-year-old bank worker failed to complete an advance booking at Heathrow that would have cost her £139.

On her return she was charged £403. Mrs Smith, of Southampton, said: ‘I cried when I saw the price. My parking cost me half the price of my return flights to Australia.’

Airport staff told her they could not ‘accept responsibility if a customer does not take advantage of our pre-book rates’. They said all prices were clearly displayed at the airport and on the website.

A spokesman said: ‘For those not comfortable with paying these rates, Heathrow is also accessible via public transport.’ 

James Daley, of Fairer Finance, says: ‘It’s opportunistic of companies to charge punitive prices for those who leave things to the last minute.

‘Consumer legislation has finally started to get to grips with unfair terms and conditions â€" but there’s still nothing to stop firms using exploitative pricing techniques.’

Mr James said: ‘Although it’s possible to save a packet by booking online, airports aren’t exactly going out of their way to tell their customer’s about these hidden discounts.’

Some short-stay car parks closest to the terminal charge a flat daily rate no matter how long you stay.

A ten-minute stop at Leeds Bradford Airport’s ‘Premium’ short-stay car park would cost £39, a fixed daily rate.

At Birmingham Airport (pictured), two weeks in its long-stay car park is £168. But if you drive up on the day without booking it is £540

At the same airport, parking in its mid-stay car park would cost £415 for two weeks if you failed to book, compared with £125 if you did.

A spokesman said it would review its pricing following the Mail’s findings. It said it ‘incentivised’ people to book ahead to enable the airport to manage its shuttle bus collections and traffic flow.

At Birmingham Airport, two weeks in its long-stay car park is £168. But if you drive up on the day without booking it is £540.

At Stansted’s long-stay car park, a 15-minute bus from the terminal, the cost is £315 for 15 days over July and August. This falls to £89 in advance.

A Stansted spokesman sai d: ‘Our prices are driven by demand and rates vary with the availability of spaces which is line with business models of other industries including airlines and hotels.

‘The airport has a range of car parking products and prices to suit everyone’s pocket and our advice is to prebook to get the cheapest deals.’

Birmingham Airport and Leeds Bradford said they offered a range of parking for long stay, short stay and drop-offs.