Heathrow Meet and Greet is a parking service where you drive your own car into the Meet and Greet reception inside your terminal's car park, hand the keys over there, and staff park it for you in secure on-site storage. It costs from £143.40 for one day when booked in advance, rising to £246.60 for three days, with each extra 24-hour period after that priced at £38.70. It's Heathrow's most convenient official parking option, since there's no transfer bus at either end, but it's also one of the more expensive, so it suits travellers who are short of time, have heavy luggage, or an early flight more than anyone travelling on a tight budget.
What is Heathrow Meet and Greet?
You drive your own car into the Meet and Greet reception area of Heathrow's Terminal Parking car parks (previously known as Short Stay). Staff take 360-degree photos of your car using damage limitation cameras, available at Terminals 2, 3 and 5, then park it in a secure, on-site storage area with round-the-clock security patrols. When you land, your car is waiting for you at the same reception area, with no transfer bus or long walk required. It's available at all four terminals: 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Current prices
Heathrow publishes drive-up prices that start from £138.60 for a single day, but strongly recommends booking in advance for the best rate. The advance-booking price table, effective from 6 January 2026, is as follows.
| Duration | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day | £143.40 |
| 2 days | £195.70 |
| 3 days | £246.60 |
| 4 days | £297.50 |
| Each additional 24 hours (or part) | £38.70 |
Booking in advance rather than driving up on the day is the main lever for controlling the cost, and adding on extras like Fast Track security or lounge access at the same time as booking your parking can sometimes work out cheaper than buying them separately.
How Meet and Greet compares with cheaper parking
Meet and Greet sits at the expensive end of Heathrow's official parking range. For comparison, Heathrow's own Park & Ride (long stay) car parks start from around £46.80 for a first 24-hour period, roughly a third of the Meet and Greet rate, but require a shuttle bus of around 15 minutes each way. Priority Park & Ride starts from about £47.90 with a faster on-demand shuttle. If your priority is cost over convenience and you're not pressed for time or carrying heavy bags, a pre-booked long-stay option will almost always beat Meet and Greet on price. If your priority is walking straight from the car to check-in with no bus in between, Meet and Greet (or the similarly priced Valet option) is the only official way to get that at Heathrow.
Where the reception points are
Meet and Greet reception areas sit inside each terminal's own Terminal Parking car park, a few minutes' walk from check-in and departures:
- Terminal 2: Level 1 of the Terminal Parking car park
- Terminal 3: Level 1 of the Terminal Parking car park
- Terminal 4: Level 2 of the Terminal Parking car park
- Terminal 5: Level 4 of the Terminal Parking car park
Heathrow's Meet and Greet service operates from 5:00 to 23:00. If you're landing very late at night or departing very early, check the current opening hours before booking to make sure they cover your arrival or drop-off time.
Meet and Greet versus Valet Parking
Heathrow also offers Valet Parking, which is easy to confuse with Meet and Greet. With Meet and Greet, you drive into the Terminal Parking car park yourself and hand your keys over there. With Valet Parking, you drop your car right outside the terminal forecourt and a member of staff parks it for you; on return, your car is waiting in the same Terminal Parking car park either way. Valet suits passengers who want to avoid driving into a multi-storey car park at all, while Meet and Greet is the standard version most travellers book.
Electric vehicles
Heathrow does not currently provide EV charging facilities in any of its car parks, including Meet and Greet areas, so charge your car fully before you arrive. Local charging stations near the airport are listed on Heathrow's website if you need a top-up before or after your trip.
How much time to allow
When you book Meet and Greet, your selected arrival time should fall between two and three hours before your flight's scheduled departure, in line with Heathrow's standard advice of arriving two hours ahead for short-haul flights and three hours ahead for long-haul. Because the reception is next to the terminal, you do not need to add extra transfer time on top of that, unlike a car park requiring a shuttle bus.
Is it worth the price
Compare the cost against how much time and hassle you are saving. A family with heavy luggage, an early flight, or limited mobility gets clear value from walking straight from the car to check-in with no transfer bus. A solo traveller on a budget with a longer stay, and no rush to reach the terminal, will usually find a Park & Ride style long-stay option cheaper per day, at the cost of a shuttle bus journey at both ends. For the wider comparison across all of Heathrow's official car parks, see our parking guide; for getting to the terminal without a car at all, see Heathrow taxis. Checked 2026.
FAQs
What is Heathrow meet and greet parking?
It's a service where you drive your car into the Meet and Greet reception inside your terminal's Terminal Parking car park, hand your keys to staff, and they park it in secure on-site storage. On your return, your car is waiting at the same reception, so there's no transfer bus.
How much does Heathrow meet and greet cost?
From £143.40 for one day when booked in advance (effective from 6 January 2026), rising to £246.60 for three days, with each extra 24-hour period priced at £38.70. Drive-up, unbooked prices start higher, from £138.60 for one day, so booking ahead is the main way to control the cost.
Is meet and greet available at all Heathrow terminals?
Yes, it's available at Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5, with the reception area inside each terminal's own Terminal Parking car park.
Is meet and greet cheaper than pre-booked long-stay parking?
No. Heathrow's Park & Ride (long stay) car parks start from around £46.80 for a first 24-hour period, considerably less than Meet and Greet, but they involve a shuttle bus of around 15 minutes each way rather than walking straight from your car to the terminal.
What's the difference between meet and greet and valet parking?
With Meet and Greet you drive into the Terminal Parking car park yourself and hand over your keys there. With Valet Parking you drop your car on the terminal forecourt and a member of staff parks it for you. Both return your car to the same Terminal Parking car park, and both are priced similarly.
What time does Heathrow meet and greet operate?
From 5:00 to 23:00. If your flight lands or departs outside that window, check current opening hours before booking.