How to choose the cheapest East Midlands Airport Parking?

Used to just rocking up to official East Midlands Airport parking 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 at East Midlands Short Stay 1 or 3 is listed at £45 for up to 24 hours and £45 for each additional day (official Turn Up & Park). Our lowest price last week was £35.00 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/Multi-Storey, 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) — these two names exist because Long Stay is more often used for official airport car park, while Park & Ride is used by third-party providers. What they have in common is that they usually require a shuttle bus or a longish walk of 10+ minutes.
• Meet & Greet — you leave your car and keys near the terminal; it’s parked for you in a secure compound.
• Valet Parking — like Meet & Greet but with the added bonus that a driver will meet you right by the terminal drop-off point, saving you the trouble of even having to park in a designated bay.

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 Park & Ride may be the best option for you.

East Midlands Airport Car Park Specifics

Walkable:
Short Stay — Three official options within a few minutes’ walk: Short Stay 1 (~1–2 min), Short Stay 2 (~2–3 min; pre-book only) and Short Stay 3 (~1–5 min).

Meet & Greet:
Official Airport Meet & Greet sits by the terminal; you drop your keys and walk ~1–2 minutes to departures. While third-party options include Midlands Parking and FHR Meet & Greet.

Mid Stay — Mid Stay 1 / 2 / 3 are on-airport and walkable (~5–7 minutes), a nice balance if you don’t fancy a bus.

Drop-off & Pick-up — Rapid Drop Off is right by the terminal for quick goodbyes; there’s also free pick-up/drop-off in Long Stay if you don’t mind the shuttle.

Park & Ride:
Official options include Long Stay 1 and Long Stay 2 (free shuttle ~3–5 minutes, usually around every 20 minutes) and JetParks 1 & 2 (budget on-airport Park & Ride; typical shuttle ~8–15 minutes depending on stop and time of day).

Which parking type is cheapest?

Expect to pay more for convenience. Short Stay is usually the most expensive as it’s closest to the terminal and you keep your keys. Even though you’ll drop your car very close to the airport, Meet & Greet can sometimes rival Long Stay/Park & Ride on price thanks to operational efficiencies—but you will leave your keys and follow a handover process.

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

The table above shows that over the six months from the 1st April to 31st September 2025 the average price of a day in Short Stay was £14.34 compared to Park & Ride which was £9.26. That is a saving of £5+ a day.

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’ll see in the blue box. If you already know the type you want, hit Filter Results and choose exactly what you need 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! Turn Up & Park at Short Stay 1 or 3 is £45 for up to 24 hours and £45 for each additional day.

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

The average daily price of Short Stay booked two weeks in advance was £16.26, that is a huge saving compared to the £45 per day when just turning up.

Tip: Prices rise as availability tightens—start earlier around school holidays and big event weeks.

3 – Don’t Rely Just on East Midlands Official Car Parks (Actually you Have to)

Quick Insight

Third-party options tend to be cheaper than official airport car parks, but East Midlands has very little third-party options and a surprising amount of official car parks.

A Deeper Dive

(It is only snorkelling)

We usually talk about in this section about how the airport has third-party options – car parks not owned by the airport – and official car parks. While East Midlands still has a couple of third-party meet & greet providers, it unusually doesn’t have any park & ride ones. We are not sure why, but it does, for an airport of its size have a very large number of official options: Short Stay (1/2/3), Mid Stay (1/2/3), Long Stay (1/2), JetParks (1/2) and Official Meet & Greet. We can only guess, there just wasn’t enough business to go around.

In short, while the general rule that third-party tends to be cheaper still applies, you will have to go with the official parking here. There is no need to worry – you can still save big on Airport Parking Shop.

Using Airport Parking Shop

See official options side-by-side by type—no hiding bus-served official options in a separate “on-airport” bucket.

4 – Compare Parking Features to Find the Best Value

There is very likely to be more than one provider of your chosen parking option – there are 3 Meet & Greet providers at East Midlands Airport. Once you’ve decided on a parking type, compare what they offer to get the right balance of price and convenience:

• Transfer time & frequency (walk minutes or shuttle interval)
• Distance from terminal (handy if walking is preferred)
• Keys (keep vs. leave)
• Opening hours (look for 24/7 if you have late/early flights)
• Security & reviews (Park Mark, recent ratings)
• Total price, not headline (watch any airport forecourt/drop-off fees)

East Midlands snapshot — distances & brands

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 site sells every car park, and the same space can be a different price elsewhere. Check more than one site — or save time by using 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 East Midlands 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, NCP or Purple Parking — who have branded, large-capacity car parks where you can park yourself and keep your keys (we know, but you can skip this part or bear in mind if you fly from anywhere else).
• Small independent ones who may be regional.
• Meet & Greet providers who take your car to a secure compound that you won’t visit.

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).

How we save time and money:

• See more options: both third-party car parks and comparison sites.
• Compare providers: see prices for the same space, all next to each other in one search.
• See like-for-like: compare Park & Ride with Park & Ride, Meet & Greet with Meet & Greet.
• Quickly narrow down: filter by parking type, customer reviews, providers and even distance to the terminal.
• Switch dates in a click to see the cheapest.
• Understand feature differences: check summary cards or tap through for full details.

What terminology is helpful to understand pricing?

Meet & Greet vs Valet Parking

Very similar, but Valet is typically a premium handover right by the terminal.

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 or a longish walk (depending on the size of the airport). At East Midlands, as you have gathered by now, there is no third-party park & ride.

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 can often include Long Stay, which may be a bus ride away — and more similar to Park & Ride. The reason is that Long Stay is usually owned by the airport and so put into “On-Airport”. We think this can be confusing, so we don’t categorise like that. We put all bus-served options together under Park & Ride and all walkable ones under On-Airport so you can compare them like-for-like. At East Midlands both the Long Stay and JetParks need a bus.

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.

More Info

East Midlands Airport Meet and Greet

If you are looking for a stress-free start to your holiday or business trip, a Meet and Greet operation fits the bill. A chauffeur will meet you outside the terminal and, after a quick inspection of your vehicle, will complete the paper work and drive your car to the secure parking area which holds the Park Mark award. Return arrangements will be confirmed by the driver.

Postcode to get to the East Midlands Airport Meet and Greet: DE74 2SA

East Midlands Jet Parks 1 and 2

Jet Parks 1 and 2 are on-site long-stay car parks, only 8 mins away from the terminal building by means of a 24 hour shuttle bus, which runs every 15 minutes. Jet Park 1 operates an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system so make sure that the vehicle you use for your trip to the airport is the one you gave details of when booking. The car parks have the police accredited Park Mark award for peace of mind in terms of security for you and your vehicle.

Postcode to get to Jet Parks 1 and 2: DE74 2SA

East Midlands Jet Parks Plus

Jet Parks Plus is also a fully secure on-site long-stay car park operated by the same company as Jet Parks 1 and 2. Courtesy buses operate 4 times an hour. If you prefer just to turn up and pay rather than pre-book your space (essential for Jet Parks 1 and 2), this is possible at this car park.

Postcode to get to Jet Parks Plus: DE74 2SA

East Midlands Mid Stay 1-3

If you'd prefer not to get a shuttle bus, these mid-term on-site car parks are for you. They are within 7 minute walk of the terminal building and spaces can be pre-booked or you can just turn up and pay.

Postcode to get to Mid Stay 1-3: DE74 2SA

East Midlands Long Stay 1-2

Official on-site long-term secure car parking, this is an eight minute shuttle ride from the terminal building.

Postcode to get to Long Stay 1-2: DE74 2SA

East Midlands Short Stay

If you have a lot of luggage, this is the closest car park to the terminal building, a mere 2-4 minute walk away. As with all the on-site car parks it holds the Park Mark award. From £35 per 24 hour period it is an expensive option, although savings can be made by pre-booking. (Prices correct as of July 2017)

Postcode to get to Short Stay: DE74 2SA

Motorbike parking at East Midlands Airport.

You can park your motorbike for a discounted 50% rate. Our article has full details on motorbike parking at East Midlands Airport.

Parking Options for Disabled Passengers

The airport has extremely good facilities for disabled passengers. Disabled parking spaces may be found in the short stay car park approximately 100-150 metres from the terminal. Also, a fully accessible coach service will transfer passengers from the long stay car parks to the terminal building. Unfortunately, vehicles are no longer able to park at the front of the terminal building due to increased security measures. However, blue badge holders can receive 20% off of Meet and Greet parking services when you book through the call centre on 0800 083 8759

Car parks where you can keep your keys at East Midlands Airport

• Short Stay 1, 2 and 3
• Mid Stay 1, 2 and 3
• Long Stay 1 and 2
• Jet Parks 1 and 2
• Jet Parks Plus

Things to do near East Midlands

East Midlands Airport is surrounded by the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. Kings and Queens, poets, authors and pilgrims all left their mark and are remembered in the region's heritage centres, museums, castles and stately homes. It is a county full of contrast. From the cosmopolitan city of Nottingham where dynamic nightlife and great shopping can be found to the quieter market towns surrounded by the rolling fields of the rural countryside.

Perhaps the largest city in the East Midlands is Nottingham, home of Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest. Other attractions include Beehive Farm Woodland Lakes in Derby, and even Woolaton Hall and Deer Park in Nottinghamshire. Perhaps the best attraction is the National Space Centre, the UK's only attraction dedicated to space science and astronomy, which you'll find in Leicester