Most vacationers would rather enjoy hot sunny beaches and cocktails than fret over how much the airport's car park is charging them. But for passengers flying out of a London airport, the latter may prey on their mind.
All five of London's major airports—London City, Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and Gatwick—list in the top 10 in the world for expensive car parking, with three placing in the top four. That's according to JustPark, a parking app that has compiled a list of the top 20 most expensive airports to park your car in.
The top car-parking money guzzler was London City airport, charging drivers £315 ($479) for a week's stay—more than some passengers will pay for their flights. This makes parking for a week at centrally-located City airport almost four times as expensive as parking at New York's JFK, which charges $124.70.
London City airport is typically used for business trips, meaning the average passenger might use the airport car park for less than a week. That may be little consolation though for short-term parkers—London City's car park charges customers $22.60 for 1-2 hours, when booked in advance.
London Heathrow is the world's second most expensive airport for parking, according to JustPark, charging $254 for a week's stay and £12 ($18) for 1-2 hours parking. London's Stansted airport came in at number 4, followed by Luton and Gatwick in eighth and ninth place respectively.
"We've long known that airport parking is overpriced across the country, but all the same these new revelations are remarkable," said Anthony Eskinazi, founder of JustPark, in a statement.
"When people are paying more for their airport parking than their flights, something needs to change."
The U.K.'s Edinburgh and Manchester airports also rank in the top 10, with the country's Birmingham International airport coming in at 11th.
According to JustPark, travellers flying out of London Heathrow are using the JustPark app to find cheaper parking spaces in nearby residential areas. People who live near to the airport are renting out their driveways for a fraction of the price (£21.50 per week) that it costs the park at Heathrow.
Other expensive airports included Dubai International, where a week's parking will set you back $191, Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport ($135) and Changi Airport in Singapore ($179), which is one of the busiest airports in the world.
Three U.S. airports appeared in the top 20, including New York's JFK (13th), San Francisco International (14th) and Los Angeles International (20th).
Costly parking did not prevent airports from making Skytrax's list of top performers in 2014, however. The air travel rating guide ranked Singapore Changi as the world's best airport, with Amsterdam, Tokyo's Haneda and London Heathrow also rating highly, despite expensive car parks.
World's most expensive airport parking prices (per week): Top 20
- London City = $479
- London Heathrow = $254
- Sydney = $209
- London Stansted = $201.50
- Dubai international = $191
- Singapore's Changi = $179
- Edinburgh = $170
- London Luton = $170
- London Gatwick = $167
- Manchester, UK = $149
- Birmingham International, UK = $146
- Paris' Charles de Gaulle = $135
- New York JFK = $124.70
- San Francisco International = $124.70
- Barcelona-El Prat = $118
- Madrid Barajas = $114
- Amsterdam = $89.50
- Berlin Schönefeld = $88
- Tokyo's Haneda = $86
- Los Angeles International = $83
Source: JustPark
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