Newlyweds hit with £870 airport parking fee after return from honeymoon

Two newlyweds were left aghast after returning from their honeymoon to discover they had been hit with an astronomical airport parking fee. Scott Avery, 53, and his wife jetted off from Manchester to Egypt for the trip of a lifetime back in May 2022.

The groom had pre-booked the Meet and Greet service at the airport before heading off, in order to avoid any unnecessary stress ahead of the trip.

But when Scott and his bride returned, they were astonished to discover that they had mistakenly parked in the wrong bay and were faced with a monstrous fee.

Scott had paid £120 for the Meet and Greet service via the AA app, but claims that they were redirected to Terminal 2 West Car Park, due to the initial car park being full, and they received a token and left for their holiday.

The shock came when they returned a fortnight later and were confronted with an initial fee of £870. Fortunately, Manchester Airport dropped the charge as soon as Scott explained the situation and provided details of his original Meet and Greet booking, reports Lancs Live.

Speaking about the ordeal at the time, Scott said: "When we dropped the car off to go on honeymoon, I paid £120 to do the Meet and Greet. When we got to the car park, it was full, the man at the barrier said 'you can't come in here mate, its full'.

"He told us to go to the West Car Park, drop off the car keys and take the token with us. [When we got back] I put the token in the machine and it came up £870. I thought, what the b***dy hell is that?"

Scott was relieved when a swift chat with Customer Service sorted out the alarming charge. After his original booking was confirmed, the fee was scrapped and he left with a new exit token. He said: "I wouldn't have paid it. Not a chance I would pay that."

Manchester Airport's Meet and Greet service assures travellers that they won't have to "worry about finding a space", as their team will handle the car while passengers check in.

Scott praised the seamless operation at Manchester Airport on his trip to Egypt but warns others to be vigilant of parking errors.

He said: "We were already warned about it before we got back which was good because if I'd have got back and that would have come up, my head would have fallen off."

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "Mr Avery had inadvertently parked in the incorrect car park on arrival and gone on his holiday. Upon return on exiting the car park, the system generated what the amount would be for 14 days turn up parking.

"As he had a Meet and Greet booking in the system and, as a goodwill gesture, our teams waived the turn up fee on this occasion. All our car parks are clearly signposted, and we'd always encourage all passengers to prepare for their airport journey prior to coming to the site."

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.