While you go on vacation, to a conference or on a business trip, you certainly want to leave your car in secure hands. The airports in London, like in other European towns, are well aware of this need and provide various solutions. And even better, now there are interesting discounts on the parking fee.

If you want to leave for a week, for instance, London Heathrow airport offers you several options. You can leave your car in a secure “long stay” parking, with a shuttle bus transferring you to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. While the normal fee is £149, in May 2015 it is offered for only £75.80. At the Business parking, which is located closer to the airport and has more frequent shuttles, the fee is £210.50, discounted to £92.70. If you fly from Terminal 2 and are very busy, the “Valet” option lets you hand over your car at the terminal forecourt – an employee will park it for you and hand it over at the same place at your arrival. This “top” option costs usually £195.60, but now you can benefit fr0m it at £124.50. For shorter stays, or if you are waiting for arriving

passengers, you can use the “Short Stay” and “Meet & Greet” parking options. To get more specific information and choose the parking alternative most convenient for you, check the website http://longstayparking.heathrowairport.com/ for a quote, entering your arrival and departure date and time.

London Gatwick airport offers a one-week parking fee of only £51 (with a 5-10 minutes transfer time) or £57 (5 minutes bus transfer) to its Northern Terminal. To the South Terminal it’s even cheaper, only £20 and £35 respectively.

Let’s have a look how this compares to parking facilities in other international airports. At Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, you will pay €120 (£89.20) to park your car for one week. In Rome you would pay only €69 (£51.25) for 7 days. One week’s parking at Switzerland’s Zurich airport costs up to €151 (£112.20), in Tokyo €120 (£89.20), in Berlin €100 (£74.30). Munich Airport is expensive with up to €250 (£185.75) and in Madrid takes a fee of only €62.40 (£46.35). While you better avoid parking your car at Vienna Airport – you would pay a maximum fee of €588 (£436.95) per week, in New York, you can park your car at JFK airport for only €96 (£71.35). Of course, these prices are indicative and you can find special offers. However, the peace of mind of having your car parked in a secure location while you are away is certainly worth a price…