Birmingham holidaymakers urged to book airport parking in advance to avoid hiking costs
Travellers getting ready to jet off from Birmingham airport are being urged to plan and book where to leave their vehicle in advance to avoid rising costs closer to their departure date.
Research from one of the UK’s leading airport parking comparison sites, Airport Parking Shop, shows that booking a space two weeks in advance could save holidaymakers hundreds of pounds. Savings varied depending on whether the car park was located ‘onsite’ or ‘offsite’ at the airport.
The review of data covering the summer holidays this year, showed the average seven-day cost of parking at Birmingham Airport £166.46 if booked the day before travelling, compared to £113.54 if booked two weeks in advance, saving just over £50.
Savings could also be made if holidaymakers chose an off-site car park instead of an on-site car park. Off-site car parks 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 cost for a seven-day booking at an on-site car park at Birmingham Airport was £207.41 if it was booked the day before travelling, compared to £133.98 if it was booked two weeks in advance. However if an off-site car parking space was booked two weeks prior to travelling, customers could save even more money, paying £100.45 for a week’s stay.
However, Birmingham Airport is not as expensive has some of the UK’s other main airports. The review of data showed the average seven-day cost of parking at Heathrow Airport was £234.57 if booked the day before travelling, compared to £145.88 if booked two weeks in advance. At Gatwick, the cost rose from £120.82 booked two weeks in advance, to £233.03 booked the day before. The biggest saving (more than £100) could be made at Luton Airport, where the average seven-day cost of parking was £229.74 if booked the day before travelling, compared to £123.06 if booked two weeks in advance.
Robert Lelukiewicz, Head of Customer Service at Airport Parking Shop, said: “Parking at airports is one of the hidden expenses of going on holiday, even at times of the year which we might not consider to be a busy time of year, like half term.
“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. It integrates results from 8 of the biggest comparison sites and independent car parks, allowing users to side-by-side compare prices across these sites in one search/showing the best price for a car park across these sites.