Drivers are being urged to exercise caution when booking airport parking after a spate of thefts and complaints involving meet-and-greet services. One holidaymaker, Terence Baxter, booked a long-stay deal through a comparison website for Heathrow Airport, only to have his Volkswagen stolen while in the care of a company called Park At Airport Ltd.
Baxter paid £109 for three weeks' parking at a secure site, but on his return, the company failed to meet him and later informed him his car had been stolen along with seven others. He is now pursuing an insurance claim classified as “at fault” and feels the company has faced no consequences.
Police and airports have warned travellers to be wary of unofficial operators advertising cheap long-stay parking. Returning holidaymakers have reported vehicles damaged, burgled, or stolen, while others received penalty charge notices for parking breaches or were left stranded when services failed to materialise.
Unscrupulous companies often lack contracts with landowners and may dump cars on land outside airport perimeters, including construction sites and fields. An investigation by Which? found that some comparison websites operate in cahoots with rogue parking firms, with generic names that change to avoid poor reviews.
Park At Airport blamed the thefts on organised criminal gangs and said it was cooperating with a police investigation. Sussex police closed the case due to lack of evidence but remain aware of ongoing concerns and work with trading standards.
