On this page (5 sections)
How much does Meet & Greet cost?
Pre-booked rates at the official Stansted Meet & Greet start from around £84 for 8 days, more than the self-park car parks but with no shuttle and no walk through a car park. Meet & Greet is pre-book only: there is no drive-up rate. The price is dynamic, climbing as your travel date nears and as spaces fill, so book once your dates are fixed.
A standard booking cancels free up to 72 hours before arrival. The maximum vehicle height is 2.0m; larger or overheight vehicles should use Mid Stay or Long Stay. Prices are lowest booked ahead, so check the live quote on the official Meet & Greet page. To weigh it against the cheaper options, the cheap Stansted parking page compares them.
How it works
The process is built to get you from car to check-in with the least effort, in five steps.
- Book in advance. Meet & Greet is pre-book only, so reserve your space before you travel.
- Drive to a drop-off bay. Follow the signs to the Meet & Greet area on arrival.
- Hand your keys in at reception. An airport driver takes the car; the official service scans the vehicle condition on entry so it is recorded as you left it.
- Walk to check-in. The terminal is about a 2-minute walk from the Meet & Greet bays, with no shuttle to wait for.
- Collect on return. The car is parked in a secure, Park Mark accredited on-site car park and brought back when you land, so a delayed inbound flight is handled for you.
That last point is the appeal for an early departure, a late return, heavy luggage, or travelling with children: the car is dealt with at both ends and you never touch a shuttle.
Book the official service, not a lookalike
This is the part that matters most. There is the official airport Meet & Greet, and there are a number of unofficial third-party firms that trade under similar names and websites. The airport itself discourages booking with several named third-party operators after a high volume of complaints about service quality, and the problem has reached the national and regional press.
The reporting is not minor. Essex Police and Uttlesford District Council have built cases against rogue operators, and outlets including ITV News Anglia and the Bishop's Stortford Independent have covered unofficial firms leaving customers' cars parked along country lanes and residential streets near the airport, where vehicles have been vandalised: paint thrown over windscreens, tyres slashed, more than 60 cars hit in one incident. Complaints also include vehicle damage with no response, long waits to get keys back, and charges beyond the quoted price.
The protection is simple: book through the official airport website at stanstedairport.com. If you are booking somewhere that is not the airport's own site, you are not booking the official service, however close the name or domain looks. A price that undercuts the official rate by a wide margin is a warning sign, not a bargain. The cheap parking page covers how to save money safely on the legitimate options.
Meet & Greet vs Valet and Mid Stay
Three options put you close to the terminal without a long walk, so the choice is about how you hand the car over and what you pay.
- Versus Valet: Valet is the kerbside version. You drop at Zone C of the Express Set Down and hand the keys there, rather than at a Meet & Greet reception bay. It is the quickest hand-over; Meet & Greet is the standard reception-based one. Both are pre-book only and both put an airport driver in charge of parking the car.
- Versus Mid Stay: Mid Stay is far cheaper but you park yourself and take a 7-minute shuttle. If the cost gap matters more than handing the keys over, Mid Stay wins; if you would rather not deal with a shuttle at all, Meet & Greet is worth the extra.
The parking hub compares all the options side by side, including the cheapest self-park and off-airport routes.
Blue Badge and vehicle limits
Meet & Greet removes the car park walk entirely, which can suit a Blue Badge holder, but the normal charge applies and it is not free. There are also dedicated Blue Badge bays across the other car parks, covered on the Blue Badge parking page. Remember the 2.0m height limit: a tall vehicle, roof box or van should use Mid Stay or Long Stay, both of which take overheight vehicles. For the road approach and the right sat-nav postcode, see postcode and directions.