Many will not have noticed but in recent weeks (article created April 2011) the airport car parking rates have increased at a number of airports across the UK. For Gatwick parking for example the long stay rates have increased from £9.70 to £11.50 per day, an increase of £1.80 per day. That means a weeks parking at Gatwick is almost £100 pounds.
Gatwick is not the only airport to see rises in the turn up and pay rates with the other popular London airports, Stansted and Heathrow both doing the same. A day at Heathrow is £17 per day although if staying for more then five days this is reduced to £16.40.
As the busy summer period looms, car parks know they are likely to be close to full at times and are looking to take full advantage of this after a turbulent 2010. Many of the on-airport car parks offered free additional days travel for delayed return flights and allowed cancellations of reservations effected by the volcanic ash which with the huge number of travellers effected, would have meant a sharp decrease in their parking numbers.
Even with car parking rates experiencing a high period there are several ways around this, firstly, booking in advance. Sites such as airport parking offer pre-booking discounts with rates for the official car parks, often as much as 60%, a huge saving. Another alternative is the use of the off-airport park and rides, here you get cheaper parking for being away from the airport and catch a transfer bus to the terminal, here you can often knock off an extra £10 from the official on-airport long stay prices.