When you’re budgeting for travel and planning to drive to the airport, you need to take the cost of airport parking into consideration. Depending on several factors, including how far you live from the airport (read: will you stay near the airport overnight before you fly out?), off-site parking at a hotel can be an option and could save you a chunk of change in the long run.
Or you may be OK with staying at many of the off-site parking lots just outside many airports (we compared the prices of one to our local airport a few years back. It was significantly cheaper to park off-site, and with the offer in this post, you may even be able to get 1 night of parking for free [if you use the offer, we’ll get 1 night of free parking, as well]).
Of course, some people are just more comfortable parking at the airport, and that’s fine, too. Not surprisingly, the price to park at the airport varies greatly, depending on where you live. In fact, weekly parking rates can vary from just over $16 to over nearly $280, depending upon location. Here’s how we found that out…
Zutobi is an online Driver’s Ed resource that teaches everything you need to about driving and driver safety. They launched their online Driver’s Ed course in 2018 and it’s available for anyone who plans to get a driver’s license in the U.S., U.K. Australia, Sweden or France.
Zutobi wanted to see how parking rates could vary between different international airports. So they looked at the busiest airports in every country, based on the number of commercial passengers they each have per year.
They then visited the respective website for each airport, to explore their specific pricing options. The prices they recorded were the least someone could be charged for a full week of parking. The airports were then ranked.
Currencies were converted on 05/23/2022 using Google Finance.
A full list of sources can be found here.
SPOILER ALERT! It’s probably not a surprise that an airport in a large city the U.S. made it onto the list of the world’s most expensive on-site parking per week. But can you believe that another airport, also in a large city in the U.S. (albeit on the other side of the country) made it onto the list of the world’s cheapest weekly on-site parking??? And I promise it is NOT a city you would ever think would be o the “cheap” list. 😉
Other Fun Facts:
- Only one other country (Spain) had airports on both lists
- Turkey & China both had 2 airports on the “cheapest” list
- Istanbul has 2 airports on the “cheapest” list!
- London had 2 airports on the “most expensive” list
- The “cheapest” list included 6 from Asia (if you include Türkiye), 2 from Europe and 1 each from North America and the Asia-Pacific Region
- The “most expensive” list included 6 from Europe, 2 from the Middle East and 1 each from North America and the Asia-Pacific Region
OK, here are the 2 lists:
World’s Cheapest Airport Parking (Weekly Rate)
10. Ninoy Aquino Int’l Airport (Manila, Philippines) – $40.14
9. Shanghai Hongqiao Int’l Airport (Shanghai, China) – $39.74
8. Wuhan Tianhe Int’l Airport (Wuhan, China) – $36.75
7. Los Angeles Int’l Airport (Los Angeles, USA) – $35.00
6. Kempegowda Int’l Airport (Bangalore, India) – $34.80
5. Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (Madrid, Spain) – $32.95
4. Leonardo da Vinco-Fiumicino Airport (Rome, Italy) – $32.95
3. Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok, Thailand) – $28.60
2. Istanbul Atatürk Airport (Istanbul, Turkey) – $19.78
1. Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Int’l Airport (Istanbul, Turkey) – $16.06
World’s Most Expensive Airport Parking (Weekly Rate)
10. Singapore Changi Airport (Singapore) – $178.13
9. London-Gatwick Airport (London, UK) – $182.05
8. Paris-Orly Airport (Paris, France) – $185.99
7. Zürich Airport (Zürich, Switzerland) – $200.89
6. Logan International Airport (Boston, USA) – $203.00
5. Berlin Tegel Airport (Berlin, Germany) – $211.50
4. Barcelona El Prat Airport (Barcelona, Spain) – $212.13
3. Abu Dhabi Int’l Airport (Abu Dhabi, UAE) – $228.70
2. London Stansted Airport (London, UK) – $263.66
1. Hamad Int’l Airport (Doha, Qatar) – $278.77
Zutobi has some other interesting numbers, such as the extremes of which airport prices have increased or decreased over the years. Take a look at their page for more info.
Feature Image: Public Domain
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4 comments
Wow. I didn’t know LAX was so cheap or I would have parked there years ago. CLT Charlotte airport used to be somewhat cheap but I have no recent data. I have parked on city streets and walked to the airport. One US airport clamped down when the town (a suburb) banned parking without a permit near the airport. One airport that I parked before had a fairly long walk of maybe 1.25 to 1.5 miles but I did it once. I had a clunker at the time so didn’t mind if it were stolen but that was before catalytic converter theft became common. Other cities, I parked at home and took the city bus, even in cities that had bus service only once an hour. One city has bus service every 2 hours. MSY New Orleans has or had service only in the early morning and late afternoon, mostly for airport workers.
Wow.. I knew Boston (my home airport) had expensive parking, but this does put it in scale when compared to the cheap list.
I try and fly out of Worcester ORH whenever I can due to their $42 weekly, currently free, parking. Although there’s only one flight a day for most carriers so any cancellation will bring you back to Boston and costing you an Uber to Worcester to pick up your car.
Many airports in the smaller Midwest cities have free parking. Why no mentions?
No idea. My guess is because they were looking at the busiest airports?