Best airport parking

Most of the time, airport parking will be a minor detail in your holiday plans. Until it goes wrong. 

When we investigated rogue airport parking operators, we found agents stealing from vehicles, cars abandoned in fields and companies refusing to take responsibility for damage. 

But that doesn’t mean you should always plump for the airport’s own car parks. Our survey of more than 5,000 UK holidaymakers has rated 78 airport car parks based on recent experience. We found off-site providers that are better rated than official sites and can offer huge savings on a week’s parking. 

For example, when we checked, Purple Parking’s park and ride cost less than £100 for a week’s parking at Heathrow, which was 25% cheaper than the airport’s own long-stay parking and better rated, too. 

The best off-site brands have been named Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs). These services all combined good value and customer experience with high-quality service and vehicle safety. 

Read our top tips to save on airport parking

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Best off-site airport parking brands

We looked at both park-and-ride services (where you take a bus to the airport) and meet-and-greet options (where you leave your car with a chauffeur at the terminal). 

You’ll usually find the cheapest airport parking in park and rides because you have to allow extra time to catch a shuttle bus to the terminal. You will sometimes hand over your keys at a park and ride so that operators can park your car in the most efficient way.

Meet and greets typically cost more, but you can drop off your car very close to the airport terminal and then just walk in. 

Best park-and-ride airport parking providers

Best meet-and-greet airport parking brands 2026

The off-site airport parking brands that Which? recommends

Our WRPs aren’t just the best rated – their sites have also passed our safety and cancellation checks, and have consistent ratings across multiple locations.

For many years, we have recommended that you look out for the Park Mark logo on a car park’s website, but the scheme is changing, and some reputable car parks no longer carry this logo. 

In our analysis, we’ve ensured all WRPs previously held the Park Mark and have other strong security measures, such as constant staffing and CCTV.

Flying from Heathrow airport? Check our round-up of the cheapest Heathrow parking

Sentinel: Leeds Bradford (park and ride) – 86% 

Sentinel’s park-and-ride service, just half a mile from Leeds Bradford airport, is streets ahead of its competitors.

It’s the only operator with a full five stars for customer service, ease of finding the car park, ease of parking, and transfer time (two minutes). It was also rated five stars for its security and the vehicle's condition upon return.

Sentinel prides itself on its 24-hour customer service and comprehensive refund policy – ‘if you don’t park, you don’t pay’ – and you can even have your car cleaned and given an MOT while you’re away.  

One customer told us: ‘We have used Sentinel Leeds many times, and on every occasion everything went smoothly and according to the information provided. They are particularly good for both the speed of the initial key drop-off and transfer to the airport.’

Book your Leeds Bradford airport parking with Sentinel

APH: Gatwick and Manchester (park and ride) – 80%

APH’s park-and-ride service was the best-rated parking option at both Gatwick and Manchester airports in our survey. 

An independent, family-owned company, APH has been providing airport parking services since 1980. 

It was one of only two brands with a five-star rating for car park security. It also got five stars for the car's condition upon return. 

As one customer enthused: ‘APH staff are friendly and helpful, it’s easy to find and well organised with no waiting around, and it’s good value for money. I always recommend it to others.’

Book your Gatwick/Manchester airport parking with APH

Secure Airparks: Edinburgh (park and ride) – 76%

With around 1,800 parking spaces, and just one minute from the terminal, Secure Airparks is an excellent alternative to the official parking, and customers gave it a better rating. 

It’s also often cheaper. The website claims it can be 50% cheaper than terminal parking (although it was only £5 cheaper per week when we spot checked). 

Secure Airparks has 30 years’ experience and full CCTV protection, and it received a five-star rating for the condition of the car on return.

One customer told us: 'It was stress-free. Staff were helpful, the park was secure and clean, and the shuttle to the airport was prompt. I also appreciated the clear signage and communication throughout.'

Book your Edinburgh Airport parking with Secure Airparks

Cophall Parking, operated by Maple Parking: Gatwick (park and ride) – 75%

Cophall is the Gatwick-only arm of Maple Parking (the best-rated meet-and-greet parking operator). 

Customers were impressed by the condition of the car on return, which they rated five stars, as well as by value, customer service, ease of parking and security (all rated four stars). 

Customers described the transfer process as ‘quick and efficient’. Transfers run every 15-minutes and it's a 7-12 minute bus ride from the terminals, which is often quicker than the official long-stay transfer time at Gatwick, but when we checked, Cophall was 19% cheaper for a week’s stay. 

Several customers commented on the fair pricing at Cophall. One told us it’s 'the best-value parking at Gatwick’. 

Book your Gatwick airport parking with Cophall Parking

Maple Parking: Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow (meet and greet) – 76%

Maple Parking’s meet-and-greet service was the best-rated parking option at Heathrow Airport. It also scored well at other locations.

With more than 33 years’ experience, Maple is the largest independent meet-and-greet operator in the UK. Every car is photographed, with mileage recorded at the start to give you peace of mind, which helps to explain the five-star rating for the car's condition on return.

The transfer time to/from the terminal was also rated five stars, which means you're dropped off and picked up as close to the doors as possible. And, as one customer told us, ‘the car is either already there when we return, or delivered very shortly after we arrive at the pick-up zone’.

Book your meet-and-greet airport parking with Maple Parking

Purple Parking: Gatwick and Heathrow (meet-and-greet) – 75%

Purple Parking is one of the biggest airport parking brands, serving nearly 400,000 passengers a year, and its meet-and-greet services were rated particularly well in our survey. 

Customers were impressed with the convenience of the pick-up and drop-off point, giving the transfer time a five-star rating. One customer explained: 'I do not want to get on a bus to get to the terminal with luggage. This works perfectly for me and is well worth the extra cost.’

The price of its meet-and-greet service was on a par with Maple Parking when we checked, which is usually cheaper than the airports’ official valet parking service (more than £20 a week cheaper in our spot check). 

It was rated an excellent five stars for the condition of the car on return and four stars for punctuality and the driver. One customer told us: ‘We have used Purple Parking many times as we find them straightforward to use and reliable.’

Book your meet-and-greet airport parking with Purple Parking

Best airport parking at Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and more

Off-site parking can be the cheapest option, but not always. It’s worth considering all the options at your airport before booking. That’s why we asked thousands of you to tell us about your parking experiences at the UK’s biggest airports. 

How to book airport parking safely

There are plenty of reputable third-party providers that can save you a fortune on airport parking. Here are our tips for booking safely:

1. Stick to official airport sites, our WRPs and big-name comparison sites like Holiday Extras and SkyParkSecure, and check the reviews before you book.
2. If you’re using a meet-and-greet or valet service, take photos of your car, mileage and petrol levels before handing over the keys. Remove any valuables, too.
3. Pay by credit card if the cost is more than £100. That way you can claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if the service isn’t up to scratch.

How to find the cheapest airport parking

Guy Hobbs, airport parking expert, says:

'Shop around. I always check our WRP prices against the official airport prices and book the best rate I can find well in advance – usually at the same time as booking the flights. 

'But if you’re booking a park-and-ride service, check how long the buses take and how often they run. Lengthy waits for a shuttle service when you’ve got a flight to catch are not worth the stress.

'Never pay turn-up prices. Even if you book on your way to the airport, we found you can save hundreds of pounds. Some providers let you pre-book as little as two hours in advance.'

See more tips on finding cheap airport parking deals.

How we researched airport parking

In March 2026, we collated results from 5,030 Which? Connect members and members of the general public who completed an online survey, telling us about 8,121 recent experiences of parking at the UK's biggest airports in the past two years.