Several UK airports are hiking up their parking prices and levying a ‘Christmas Airport Parking Levy’ that takes advantage of the Christmas 2019 travel rush.
Luton Airport is charging £121.99 for one week’s short stay parking from either 25/26/27 December. However, you can get a return flight to Stavanger, in Norway, for a week from Boxing Day and returning on New Year’s Day for £39.98. You can also get return flights from Luton to Krakow for £111.98 and to Dortmund for £92, with both Dortmund and Stavanger coming in cheaper than parking at both of Luton’s short and long stay car parks.
Parking comparison site, Airport Parking Shop recently reviewed the cost to park at 13 UK airports over the 2019 festive season. It looked at the cost of one week’s parking in official onsite airport car parks, checking prices for both long and short-stay parking, from 21 December to 31 December.
It then compared these prices to the post-Christmas dates of the 7th and 14th January and found that 10 out of 13 airports (77%) are hiking up their prices to take advantage of the Christmas travel rush. Leeds Bradford, Glasgow and Newcastle rates stay consistent across the December dates, with no changes between the 10 days or either of the January dates.
However prices at some of the airports fall quite significantly come January. The average price drop to park at an airport on January 7 and 14, compared to the most expensive day to park at each UK airports in December, revealed that prices fall on average by 15% in January. The biggest price drop being a fall of 50% at Birmingham Airport and the smallest adjustment is made at Manchester Airport, where prices change don’t fluctuate massively and increase by just 1%.
Some airports keep pricing consistent right across the festive period, with prices that are the same in January. Other airports raise their prices significantly on key Christmas travel dates, with the most expensive day to park up at the most expensive airport for a week being 25/26/27 December at Luton Airport’s Short Stay. Luton charges £121.99 which is 36% more than Leeds Bradford Airport for the same dates. Out of the 13 airports reviewed Leeds Bradford Airport offered the cheapest airport parking prices overall, with a consistent price of £45 to park every day from December 21st – 31st. The price also remained consistent for the two January dates.
“Stick to long-stay car parks”
On average, the most expensive day over Christmas to park at an airport this Christmas is Boxing Day. It is also one of the busiest days for UK airport car parks, as data from Airport Parking Shop shows that more bookings have been made for December 26th than any other date from 21-31 Dec. The average cost across the 13 airports for Boxing Day parking is £76 and Leeds Bradford Airport is the cheapest. The cheapest day overall for parking is New Year’s Eve at an average cost of £66.
Alice Fowler, product manager at Airport Parking Shop: “The majority of the UK airports we looked at hiked up their parking prices to take advantage of the Christmas 2019 travel rush, with Luton Airport charging the most at £121.99 and Leeds Bradford Airport coming in the cheapest at £45. If you’re travelling over the next 10 days and haven’t booked your parking, we would advise that you quickly start shopping around and stick to long-stay car parks as they tend to work out cheaper.
“Consumers as should watch out for the ‘Christmas Airport Parking Levy’ – where some airports are increasing the price to park to cash in on the Christmas travel rush. If you’re travelling on Boxing Day, then we recommend some of the offsite car parks as it’s the most expensive day to park up. Using a price comparison site, like Airport Parking Shop, will also help you to make an informed decision while saving time on visiting lots of different sites. Consumers can also make savings – on average, our customers save up to 60% on airport gate prices.”
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