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Taxi vs airport parking: which is cheaper for a week away?

Airport parking prices have jumped in the last two years. Here's a week-by-week comparison across all six UK airports we run to most often.

2025-11-27 · 4 min read

Parking prices have climbed hard since 2023 — some UK airports are 40% more expensive for a week's long-stay than they were pre-pandemic. Here's the current picture from a Nottingham base.

The numbers (1 week, pre-booked 4 weeks ahead)

| Airport | Long-stay parking | Fuel return | Total driving | Our taxi return | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | East Midlands | £70 | £14 | £84 | £70 ✅ | | Birmingham | £110 | £50 | £160 | £150 ✅ | | Manchester | £120 | £80 | £200 | £220 | | Luton | £140 | £90 | £230 | £240 (breakeven) | | Heathrow | £180 | £120 | £300 | £300 (breakeven) | | Gatwick | £190 | £150 | £340 | £340 (breakeven) |

What "breakeven" actually means

Once you split the fare between two people, the taxi wins every single one of those airports. Two adults, one bag each, one price — no shuttle, no walk, no risk of a scratched car when you get back.

The one thing parking can't beat

Flight tracking. If your inbound flight is 2 hours late, your driver arrives 2 hours later. No landing to a £14 short-stay tariff because your partner had to circle the airport waiting for you.

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