With over 23 million people passing through the busiest UK airport outside of London each year, Manchester Airport and the surrounding areas must prepare for higher-than-usual traffic levels while also taking into account that all of these extra cars must eventually stop and park. Overall, they appear to have done a good job, providing not only adequate on- and off-site parking, but also good overall public transportation integration.
This makes parking your car elsewhere and taking quick and convenient public transportation much more appealing. This guide describes the parking system and pricing at Manchester Airport in detail. It also introduces alternative parking options that you may not have considered. The prices in this article were obtained from official websites and were correct as of May 2023.
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Manchester Airport Parking
Parking at Manchester Airport
While there are other options to consider, Manchester Airport offers the most convenient parking for someone looking to absolutely minimize the hassle of parking. While you could find more affordable parking options, parking at the airport is by far the easiest, especially when traveling with heavy luggage or small children.
The airport offers short- and long-stay parking options, meet-and-greet services, self-parking, and on-site shuttle transfers between the parking areas and the terminals. This means no long treks across vast parking lots. The terminals are located fairly close to each other –terminals 1 and 3 are located right next to each other, with T2 nearby– and are all connected by the Manchester Airport Skylink, a rolling walkway that gets you between any of the terminals within a few minutes. All this means you can easily get to your terminal, no matter where you park.
Like other airports, Manchester Airport uses dynamic pricing, meaning that the parking price goes up and down throughout the year depending on how busy the airport gets. Pre-booking your parking in advance is a must: 4 out of 5 of the on-site parking garages only operate on a pre-booked system, and the 5th charges 250% more if you do not book in advance.
Manchester Airport short-stay parking
Manchester Airport charges £62.00 for a three-day stay in their multi-story car parks at T1 and T2. It is important to note that the parking must be reserved in advance in order to receive this price. Unbooked, the same parking is advertised at £360.00 (for 8 days), raising the daily rate from approximately £20 to £45.
The multi-story parking garages are right next to the terminal entrances, making them extremely convenient and eliminating the need for an on-site shuttle. If you only need parking for one night, the hourly rate changes to a fixed rate of £58.00 for 24 hours. If you plan to stay for 8 days or less, we recommend the mid-stay car park. A pre-booked 8-day stay will cost approximately £66.00. T1/3 is the location of the mid-stay parking garage.
While you could save a few pounds by using long-term parking (more on that in the next section), you have the convenience of keeping your keys and returning to your car right away, without the hassle of waiting for your car or taking the shuttle.
Manchester Airport long-stay parking
JetPark long-stay parking is the most affordable on-site parking option for longer trips of 8 days or more. The cheapest parking option is £56 for an 8-day self-parking stay, with a £60 Drop & Go option that includes a quick shuttle transfer to T1 or T2, or a £70 Meet & Greet service that allows you to drive right up to the terminal and have your car parked for you. This is useful when traveling with children or large amounts of luggage.
CCTV, visible parking attendants, and fencing protect all parking at Manchester Airport. Cameras will record your car for both Drop & Go and Meet & Greet, ensuring that it is returned in the same condition. Their parking facilities and operations all meet the Park Mark and Buy with Confidence standards.
Other parking options away from the airport
Just because you are heading to the airport doesn’t mean that your car has to as well. On-site airport parking is often significantly more expensive than at other places, and the traffic around airports can get really bad during certain seasons. Luckily, Manchester Airport –like many others in the UK to be honest– has really good public transport options to and from the airport available.
This opens up new parking possibilities where you drive close to the airport, find safe and convenient parking, and make the last few miles by bus, train, or metro. Not only could you potentially save quite a bit doing this, even when factoring in the transport ticket, but you also get to the airport faster than during peak traffic times. With the Manchester Airport Metrolink Station within a few minutes walk or rolling walkway from all the terminals, and numerous bus services going to the airport, we will provide you with affordable and convenient parking options near Metrolink Stations and bus stops within a 15-minute or so radius of Manchester Airport.
A one-way tram ticket costs £1.40 in zone 4, so if you can manage to find safe, affordable, and convenient parking near a tram stop, you could save a few pounds this way. Below, we’ve catalogued the tram stops with the best and most affordable parking nearby.
Parking near Wythenshawe Town Centre
While there are several tram stops near the airport, none have convenient and secure parking. We decided that our first entry should be the closest one with both secure parking and free streetside parking. While leaving your car on the street is legal and unrestricted for a few hours, we recommend parking your car securely if leaving it overnight or for an extended period of time.
Your £1.40 ticket will take you 13 minutes from Wythenshawe Town Centre to the airport. If you are driving down from Manchester and don’t want to deal with the airport’s parking or traffic, parking in Wythenshawe Town Centre is the best option. You might be able to find streetside parking at any of the tram stops closer to the airport, but this is the last stop on this line with secure parking within a short walk of the tram.
- Forum Centre Car Park M22 5RX // Open 24h // £6/8h // Free after 5pm // 0.3 miles
- Asda Wythenshawe Car Park M22 5HZ // Open 24h // 2h Maximum // 0.2 miles
- Summerfield Road M22 1BD // Residential streetside // Unrestricted // 0.3 miles
- Longlevens Road M22 1AX // Residential streetside // Unrestricted // 0.3 miles
- Gladeside Road M22 9OS // Residential streetside // Unrestricted // 0.3 miles
Parking near Wilmslow Station
If you are driving to Manchester Airport from the south or southeast, such as Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, or Nottingham, you should think about stopping at Wilmslow station, which is a 12-minute train ride from the airport. While tickets are available at the door, pre-booking a ticket saves you money, bringing the cost down to just under £3. Make sure you are not late with your train ticket. There are only 18 trains per day, so missing one could mean having to drive to the airport and adding the cost of parking to the cost of missing a train.
While the prospect of missing a train in either direction may deter you from parking here, someone looking for long-term parking, say for a quick trip to Portugal, should seriously consider this location. The Wilmslow Station Car Park, located adjacent to the station, provides secure parking at a low cost.
- Wilmslow Station Car Park SK9 1BU // Open 24h // £35/week // 0.1 miles
- Broadway Meadow Car Park SK9 1NA // Open 24h // £28 for 5 days// 0.3 miles
It’s difficult to find street parking near Wilmslow station. The nearest unrestricted streetside parking is more than a 20-minute walk away, which you should avoid if you are traveling to or from the airport.
Parking in Stockford
If you are driving to Manchester Airport from Leeds, Sheffield, or anywhere else to the north or east, you’ll most likely end up on the M60, which runs through Stockport. The 199 Skyline bus leaves Garrick Theatre every 30 minutes and takes approximately 30 minutes to get to the airport. A single ticket costs approximately £4.50.
While there are no affordable long-stay car parks within easy walking distance of the Garrick Theatre, these are excellent short-stay options to consider if you’re only going to the airport for a couple of hours. Parking options near the Garrick Theatre in Stockport that are safe and secure include:
- Mersey Shopping Centre Car Park SK1 1PD // Open 6am – 1:30am // £3.60/4h, £10.80/24h // 0.2 miles
- NCP Stockport Exchange Station SK1 3SW // Open 24h // £3.80/4h, £11.95/24h // Up to 50% discounts when using NCP app // 0.3 miles
- Heaton Lane Car Park SK4 1AR // Open Mon-Sat 6am to 6pm // £1/h // 0.4 miles
Driveway rentals
Driveway rental apps are a more recent development in the world of parking. This enables people to easily rent out their own driveways for short or long periods of time, and is especially popular in areas with limited or expensive parking, such as near airports. While airport infrastructure typically makes walking the final mile to the airport difficult, getting a good rate for a week’s parking and simply paying a taxi or Uber for a short ride could still save you a lot of money.
Justpark.com is the dominant player in the driveway rental market. A quick search with your travel dates and times reveals dozens of driveways within a 2-mile radius of the airport, with parking options starting at £2.60/4h and averaging around £4.20/4h. A week’s stay in someone’s driveway, again within a 2-mile radius, will cost anywhere between £22 and £30.
Airport Park & Ride
Today’s final cost-cutting option is to consider airport park-and-ride services. These usually entail driving to a remote location, parking your car, and taking a shuttle to the airport. When you arrive back at the airport, a shuttle will be waiting to take you to your car, or your car may be waiting for you. Offsite parking options that include the transfer fee are frequently less expensive than airport parking.
Toad Park & Ride // Carepark Park & Ride
Both of these park and ride services operate from Care Park, which is only a 5-minute drive from the airport, making them very appealing. They provide valet parking by insured drivers, have your vehicle waiting for you near reception on the pick-up date, provide 24-hour security, and offer courtesy buses to the airport every 20 minutes between April and October and every 30 minutes the rest of the year. These family-run businesses are situated on a 3-acre plot of land, making them ideal for parking trailers and other larger vehicles. Parking costs from £28 per week. This is the cheapest long-term parking we could find within 5 minutes of the airport. You can reach them by phone at 0161 470 8210 or by visiting their website.
We concluded after an extensive search that this is the only Park & Ride service that can compete with Manchester Airport’s parking options in terms of price and convenience. The vast majority of park and ride services near Manchester Airport charge between £85 and £100 per week, compared to the airport’s rates of under £60. We hope the information in this guide makes your next trip to Manchester Airport a little more convenient or less expensive. Remember to use our free interactive map to find the best parking options for your needs.
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