Gatwick Airport Car Park Prices
Gatwick Airport’s official parking options are competitively priced compared to other available options. They offer a variety of car parks, including short stay, mid stay, long stay, valet parking, and premium parking. We paid £80 for five days in the Official Gatwick Airport Long Stay Car Park, which was cheaper than other companies.
Book Airport Parking
The booking process was easy using the Gatwick Airport website. We entered our arrival and departure times, chose Gatwick Airport Long Stay car park, entered our vehicle registration number, and paid via credit card. You can make changes, cancel your booking, or manage your reservations up to 24 hours before you arrive at no additional cost. This is helpful if your flight is cancelled or changed, allowing you to make amendments without incurring extra fees.
Directions to Gatwick South Long Stay
The Long Stay Car Park at Gatwick South Terminal Airport is easy to find and access when driving to the airport. Just follow the signs to the North or South Terminal based on your parking reservation. You’ll join the main ring road servicing the airport terminals, and the car park is an exit off this road. The car parks are conveniently close to the terminals, so if you forget something, you can quickly return to your vehicle.
Gatwick South Long Stay Entrance
If you’ve pre booked parking, access is controlled by ANPR cameras at the entrance, which should automatically raise the barrier for you. If this doesn’t work, you can take a ticket and pay the on the day rate for the Long Stay Car Park. However, these ANPR cameras often malfunction, as many people, including ourselves, had to call using the assistance button to get the barriers to open.
Gatwick Airport Car Park Security
The long stay car park at Gatwick’s South Terminal appeared to be fully fenced, providing a good level of security. There are CCTV cameras around the car park. However, they don’t offer blanket coverage, so there’s no guarantee your car will be monitored. Nonetheless, self parking and keeping your keys ensure that no one else will drive your vehicle.
Gatwick South Car Park Spaces
The car park is divided into different zones marked by letters, with zones opened based on availability. We parked in Zone F, which was already crowded, making it difficult to find a space. The overall size of the car park does not seem sufficient for the demand, and the parking spaces are standard size without extra space, which may be inadequate for travellers with large baggage.
Long Stay Car Park Transfer Time
Shuttle buses to the terminal depart from bus stops located around the car park. Since we were in Zone F, which is near the end of the bus route, our transfer to the terminal took about six minutes. However, parking in Zone A would result in a longer journey, as the bus would have to navigate the entire car park first, adding another 10 minutes to the transfer time.
Gatwick Airport Long Stay Shuttle Bus
The waiting time for the bus is advertised as every 12 minutes, but this can vary if the buses go off schedule. We just missed two buses that were directly behind each other, and then waited about 10 minutes for the next one. The buses are bendy types, offering extra space for luggage and low floor access for wheelchairs, with drivers available to assist if needed. During our outward Journey, there was plenty of space and seating available because we were travelling during off-peak times. Overall, it will take about 20 to 30 minutes from parking your car to reaching the terminal, including the waiting time at the bus stop.
Terminal Drop Off
The Long Stay buses drop passengers off directly outside the South Terminal, allowing for a quick walk to the check-in desks and security. However, the pickup point is different from the drop-off point, so be careful not to return to the same place upon your return.
Long Stay Terminal Pick Up
When returning, the pickup point is to the left when exiting the South Terminal. This isn’t easy to spot, and it would have been helpful to have notices about this at the drop-off point. We didn’t have to wait long for a bus, but it was very crowded, and there were no available seats.
Gatwick Airport Shuttle Bus
The drop-off route around the car park takes a long time, as the bus has to enter and exit the car park multiple times because of the car park’s confusing design. Additionally, the bus has to go through ANPR barriers that often do not recognise it, requiring the driver to wait for radio assistance to open the barriers. Allow yourself 25 to 35 minutes to get back to your car from the terminal, which includes the wait time for the pickup bus.
Airport Car Park Exit
After retrieving your car, exiting should be a smooth process if you have pre-booked. However, we encountered long queues at the exit barriers because the ANPR system wasn’t functioning, and everyone had to wait for assistance to leave. We attempted to change lanes since we were stuck behind another vehicle, but due to the barrier design, we scraped the bottom of our car in the process. Overall, the exit process was not as smooth as we expected, but considering the price and convenience, it was still acceptable.
