How to choose the cheapest Birmingham Airport Parking?

Used to just rocking up to the official Birmingham Airport site on the day and paying as you enter? Perfectly understandable as you just want to relax and enjoy your holiday; however, by using Airport Parking Shop and a tiny bit of planning, you can save money and perhaps find an option better suited to you.

A comparison: Turning up and paying on the day at Birmingham Airport: Car Parks 1, 2 & 3 are £64 for up to 24 hours; Car Park 7 is £49 for up to 24 hours (additional days charged per the official tariff for each day). Our lowest price last week was £37.38 for a 7-day stay.

Tempted? Then, whether it is the nearest car park or the cheapest, we give you the answers below in just five bite-sized chunks.

1 – Understand Your Parking Type Options (and what’s usually cheapest)

Quick Insights

Park & ride is usually the cheapest (you park further away and take a bus), while short stay, right by the terminal, is the most expensive.

A Deeper Dive

(but don’t worry you will be back to the surface in no time)

The four main types of parking are short stay, long stay, meet & greet and valet parking options:

• Short stay (or multi-storey) — usually very near to the terminal and just a few minutes’ walk to departures.
• Long stay (or park & ride) — a bus ride or at least a 10-minute walk away (depending on the airport).
• Meet & greet — you leave your car and keys in an agreed part of the airport, and it is taken to a secure car park off-site (or an official compound).
• Valet parking — like meet & greet but with the added bonus that a driver will meet you at the terminal drop-off point, saving you the trouble of even having to go to the agreed space.

If you’re travelling with the family, you may find the meet & greet service is best suited to you; if you’re not carrying huge amounts of luggage then a cheaper off-airport car park may be the best option for you.

Birmingham Airport Car-park specifics

Short stay (on-airport, walkable):

Car Park 1, 2 & 3 — are all covered multi-storey car parks about 1 minutes’ walk to the terminal.

Car Park 4 — is described as a 3–5-minute walk with covered walkways, and it seems Birmingham is not a big one for making you get your steps in as they also offer a 24/7 shuttle every ~15 minutes taking 3–5 minutes. Obviously for those with restricted mobility Birmingham is a great choice.

Car Park 5 — 10-minute walk, and, needless to say, has a free shuttle (3–5 minutes) every ~15 minutes, 24/7.

Official long stay (on-airport, bus):

This needs a bus so is down below under park & ride.

Meet & greet (at the terminal):

Official Valet Parking (Meet & Greet) — drop at the Valet area; ~1 minute walk to check-in.

Third-party meet & greet options include Maple Parking, Meteor, Airparks, Blue Circle, and others; they meet you at the Valet/Short Stay area so a 1-minute walk.

Park & ride (off-airport):

Car Park 7 — official off-site long-stay with free shuttle ~10–15 minutes; leave keys (attended cabin).

APH Self Park — typical ~15 minutes transfer; open 24/7; keep your keys.

Airparks Express — ~3 minutes shuttle; keep your keys.

ShortRun by Airparks — ~5 minutes shuttle, about every 10 minutes.

Drop-off & pick-up (if you’re just waving, not flying):

Premium Set Down — right by the terminal (about 1 minute); ANPR barrier-less system now in place; charges apply.

Drop Off car park — first 10 minutes free, then tariffed.

Which parking type is cheapest?

Expect to pay more for convenience. Short stay is usually the most expensive option as your car stays in the closest car park to the airport and your keys stay in your pocket, allowing you a quick walk back to your car. Even though you will drop your car very close to the airport, valet and meet & greet can still be cheaper than long stay (park & ride) — meet & greet providers take your car off-airport to cheaper locations, so they can be very competitive. You also have to arrange dropping-off and picking-up times and leave your keys.

Birmingham Airport Parking - Short Stay, Meet & Greet and Park & Ride Comparison

The table above shows that over the six months - the 1st April to 31st September 2025 - the average price of a day in Short Stay booked two weeks in advance was £21.23 compared to Park & Ride which was £17.40. That is a saving of almost £4 a day. Short Stay booked closer to the time was much pricer.

Note: The above is for guidance on price differences not an estimate of your price. It includes quotes for 1 day's parking up to 14+ days and you will pay a much lower price if you book for more days. In addition, it includes all providers in that category - for example, Park & Ride - and some will be more expensive. You can see a list of the cheapest providers over the last week above or simply do a search to compare latest prices across all the leading comparison sites. We don’t own any car parks, we are only interested in getting you the cheapest price.

Using Airport Parking Shop

Tip: By default, Airport Parking Shop lists prices from low to high irrespective of the parking type, which you can see in the blue box. If you are sure what kind of parking type you want, simply hit the Filter Results option above the results and then select for just what you want under Parking Options on the left.

2 – Plan to Book in Advance

Quick Insight

Start looking at least two weeks in advance.

(The Quick Dive-Down Part)

The most expensive way to park is to turn up on the day and pay as you enter. Not only will it cost more but they might not have spaces, leaving you with a lot more stress than having to remember to book!

Each car park will have their own prices, but at Birmingham the official turn-up tariffs are: Car Parks 1, 2 & 3 are £64 for up to 24 hours; Car Park 7 is £49 for up to 24 hours (additional days charged per the official tariff for each day). Therefore, you would spend £243 at Car Park 7 for a 7 day stay.

You can save more money by booking in advance, with the amount you save depending on how far in advance you book: aim for at least two weeks.

Birmingham Airport - Advance Pricing Comparison

As you can see from the table above, the average price of one day’s Short Stay parking fell from £32.75 to £21.23 when booked two weeks in advance, compared to one day ahead.

Tip: Prices go up due to availability (or lack of) so at busier times of the year, like school and national holidays, you may want to start looking at prices even earlier.

3 – Don’t Rely Just on Birmingham Official Carparks

Quick Insight

While third-party car parks are usually cheaper than official airport car parks, Birmingham has official options that are sometimes comparable in price — Car Park 7.

A Deeper Dive

(It is only snorkelling)

Birmingham, like most airports, has its own car parks which cover short stay, long stay, and meet & greet, among others. And, like most airports, it has third-party operators providing parking options. You may have read about rogue parking operators at airports and understandably that can be off-putting, but the reality is that lots of trusted, established providers run car parks all across the UK.

Birmingham official car parks are Car Parks 1, 2 & 3, 4, 5, 7, plus Valet Parking (official meet & greet). The rest are third-party providers.

Why no third-party short stay? By virtue of short stay needing to offer a short walk and therefore be near the terminal and on the airport grounds, it’s usually the preserve of the official airport parking – with third-party operators focused on park & ride and meet & greet.

Is official or third-party the cheapest?

Comparing like-for-like (e.g., meet & greet vs meet & greet; park & ride vs park & ride), official is more often than not pricier. If you prefer an official option Car Park 7 is the cheapest. Don’t forget — pricing is dynamic, so do a search and confirm.

Tip: It might be considered that the official car park has better facilities or convenience, but not necessarily; remember to check features like distance to terminal and shuttle bus schedules.

Using Airport Parking Shop

Airport Parking Shop allows you to see official and third-party car parks together based around key functionality. For example, carparks that need a bus will be under park & ride; we don’t leave official ones under on-airport, making it difficult to filter and compare.

4 – Compare Parking Features to Find the Best Value

There is very likely to be more than one provider of your chosen parking option: Birmingham has multiple park & ride operators and several meet & greet choices. Therefore, once you have decided on a parking type, you can then compare what they offer to see which one offers the right balance of price and convenience for you:

• Transfer time & frequency: walk or shuttle time and how often for the shuttle.
• Distance from terminal: check how many miles away your meet & greet operator is taking your vehicle.
• Keys: leave keys is often cheaper; keep keys is a convenience premium.
• Booking flexibility: fully flexible vs pay-now/non-refundable.
• Opening hours: 24/7 collection for late/early flights.
• Accessibility: step-free routes, Blue Badge bays.
• Security & reviews: independent accreditation, recent ratings.
• Total price, not headline: watch out-of-hours, late-return, or oversized-vehicle fees.

For example, Airparks Express quotes a shuttle of around 3 minutes, while APH Self Park quotes around 15 minutes; both operate 24/7.

Using Airport Parking Shop

Tip: After doing a search the features above will be displayed in the tabs, or by hitting the More Info button.

5 – Compare Sites to Find the Cheapest and Save More

Quick insight

Not every airport parking site works with every car park and sometimes they can sell the same space at different prices. It helps to check more than one site and use a meta provider like Airport Parking Shop.

The Detail

(I ran out of deep dive riffs)

So, you are ready to save money – you’ve even planned out how many more drinks you can get at the pool bar. But then you google for Birmingham Airport parking, you see so many sites to choose from, and your head starts to hurt. Which one is best?

The world of airport parking is made up of lots of businesses:

• The official airport car parks usually run by the airport.
• National third-party car park chains – for example APH, Airparks, Maple Parking – who have branded, large-capacity car parks where you can park yourself and keep your keys (or hand them over for meet & greet).
• Small independent ones who may be regional.
• Meet & greet providers who take your car to a secure compound that you won’t visit.

The smaller ones may wholly rely on comparison sites to sell spaces for them, while the larger ones may have their own web shops. The larger ones usually sell their own spaces and often ones from other car parks – they may even rebrand these spaces as their own. The result is a lot of choice and understandable throbbing in your head.

Use a comparison site to cut through the noise

This definitely helps but not every car park works with every comparison site and sometimes, different sites charge different prices for the same space. Ever been searching for car insurance and found a provider available on one comparison site and not another, or at a different price? Airport parking is no different with the added complication that some comparison sites are selling their own spaces too.

Search more than one

The key therefore in finding the cheapest price is to check as many different sites as possible. As with anything else, there is a cost-benefit ratio so you might set yourself a target of the top 3 or 4. Or you might just give up!

All the comparison sites have a lowest price guarantee – isn’t that great?

Checking multiple sites for lowest prices is a time-consuming exercise so why not just rely on the cheapest price guarantee of the first one? Cheapest price guarantees are fantastic, but it is down to you to go find a lower price elsewhere, often within 24 hours, and then contact the original provider, send them the link, and wait for their refund. Something most of us don’t have time for.

How Airport Parking Shop Can Help

That is why Airport Parking Shop is here. We compare the car parks for you, and we even compare the comparison sites. We are independent, we don’t have any car parks of our own. Check the logos for our partners above and then look down the search results for airport parking and you can see we work with almost everyone (find one we don’t, let us know and we’ll get on it).

What terminology is helpful to understand pricing?

Meet & greet vs valet parking

Meet & greet and valet parking are similar beasts, but valet parking offers a more premium service. With meet & greet it is usually your job to park in a designated space and take your keys to a desk and hand them over, while with valet parking someone meets you outside the terminal, speeding up the process. (At Birmingham, the official “Valet Parking” is the airport’s meet & greet.)

Park & ride vs long stay

These terms are often used interchangeably with park & ride preferred by third-party operators and long stay by the official airport. In general, both involve a bus ride but sometimes you have to walk from a long-stay car park depending on the airport’s layout.

On-airport vs off-airport

Many comparison sites have an on-airport filter and a separate one for park & ride. The on-airport category might seem self-explanatory, but the search results usually include long stay with a shuttle — similar to park & ride. The reason is that long stay is usually owned by the airport, so think of on-airport as anything owned by the airport.

Short stay

Short stay doesn’t mean you have to stay for a short period of time. The price and closeness to the airport means it is usually used by friends or relatives sending someone off, but you can park for a week or two if you want. Just remember it will cost you a lot more.

Short stay

Birmingham Short Stay Car Parks

Birmingham Airport Short and Medium Stay

If you are only away for a short time (or better still on expenses) you might like to splash out on the Short and Medium Term car park which is a one-minute walk from the terminal building. For the best rates it is best to pre-book but, if you are flying off at short notice, it is possible just to turn up and pay. Like the majority of the airport car parks on and off-site, this is a secure car park.

Postcode: B26 3QJ

Birmingham Airport Long Stay Car Parks

APH Birmingham

This is an off-site car park that is a 15-minutes drive from the airport, although it is advisable to allow 45 mins between parking and check-in because of unpredictable traffic conditions. The bus stops at an intermediate bus stop en route to the airport, so make sure you do not get off there!

The transfer bus is unable to accommodate large items such as surf boards, so if you are carrying large equipment, you may be better off booking parking at an on-site car park. Drivers are required to leave their keys with the car park operator.

A Winter Wash package is available at a supplement, which as well as including a wash and dry-off also includes a refill of the washer bottle.

Postcode: B46 1AL

Birmingham Airparks Services

According to the operator’s website this is the closest off-site Long Stay car park to the airport, being only four miles from the terminal, but it is still advisable to allow about 50 minutes for the transfer, especially if there is a major event at the NEC. Various options are available when booking, depending on whether your plans are likely to change and whether you are comfortable leaving your keys with the attendant.

If you are carrying large items such as bikes or skis, you will not be able to take them on the bus so make sure you drop them off with a passenger at the airport first or alternatively book an on-site car park. Transfers run every 25 minutes, but if you have an early departure or late arrival (between midnight and 3am) you will have to request a shuttle.

You can also book a return meet service, which could be ideal for passengers flying in to Birmingham late at night. The driver will have your car ready and waiting for you at the airport, saving you valuable time.

Postcode: B33 0JD

Birmingham Airport Long Stay

If a quick get-away is important to you, the on-site Birmingham Airport Long Stay Car Park could be just what you are looking for. Transfers take five minutes on the regular shuttle bus or, alternatively, if you are not laden down with luggage, you can walk to the terminal building in five to ten minutes.

Postcode: B26 3QJ

Birmingham Meet and Greet parking options

There are plenty of Meet and Greet services serving Birmingham Airport; scroll up to view the full list and to compare prices simply run a quote using the form at the top of this page.

NCP Meet and Greet

If time is tight or you have a lot of luggage, then this Meet and Greet service could be a good option for you. Just drive to the Drop and Go area at the airport and you will be met by a staff member who will check your car in and take it to the Long Stay Car Park for the duration of your trip. On arrival back at the airport you should phone as soon as you disembark so that your car can be retrieved. This Meet and Greet service offers a variety of rates depending on whether you want flexibility.

Postcode: B26 3QJ

Parking where you keep your keys

If you wish to keep your keys when you park your car at Birmingham Airport, these car parks are good options for you:

• Car Park 1
• Car Parks 2 and 3
• Car Park 5
• Shortrun by Airparks

Is there Motorbike parking at Birmingham Airport?

Birmingham Airport hotels with parking

If you’ve got an early flight, or you just don’t want the hassle of driving to the airport in the morning, booking a hotel that comes with parking can be a great way to ensure a relaxing journey! Turn up the night before, have a good night’s sleep and then make your way to the airport without having to worry about any traffic. The price includes your parking for your trip so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Find and compare great hotel and parking packages to get a great deal.

Guide to Birmingham City

A transformed and modernised Birmingham, also recognised as 'The City of 1,001 Trades,' is home to a population of more than a million residents, in the heart of England surrounded by attractive English countryside. With a wide variety of quality tourist activities and significant improvements scattered through the city centre, it is finally shaking off its insalubrious image as a cultural wasteland.

Birmingham boasts numerous theatres, two cathedrals, a zoo, museums, shops, galleries, restaurants and bars, but is more widely known as home of Cadbury World, Bournville, and The National Sea Life Centre in Brindley place. The city's historical interests include that of the old canal system, developed late in the 18th century, and the wide variety of factories still in place from the Industrial Revolution.