Stansted Airport Long Stay Parking

Long stay at Stansted in one paragraph

For a week or more, Stansted's cheapest options are off-airport park and ride and the airport's own JetParks and Long Stay.

Every one of them involves a short bus ride, because the terminal is surrounded by roads and runway rather than car parks. The real choices are whether you keep your keys, whether the bus runs through the night, and whether your trip meets a minimum stay.

The long stay options side by side

Six products cover most long trips from Stansted.

Priced for 7–14 November 2026. Your own dates are in the search at the top.

The airport's three long stay car parks

JetParks, Long Stay and Mid Stay are all run by the airport, and all let you keep your keys.

JetParks is the lowest-priced official option, but needs seven days. Long Stay needs five. Mid Stay has no stated minimum and the shortest bus, so it covers the long weekend and the four-day trip. All three read your plate at the barrier, and the airport says all its car parks are Park Mark safe.

Minimum stays decide a lot

Match the trip length to the car park first, then compare prices.

Off-airport long stay

SMG is the cheapest long stay we sell, and the Thremhall Avenue sites run around the clock.

SMG Park & Ride in Takeley undercuts JetParks on our sample dates, but resellers list a per-person airport levy and hours that stop overnight. I Love Park & Ride, APH and Maple all list the same Thremhall Avenue address, with short transfers and 24-hour operation. All of them hold your keys.

Keeping your keys

The official car parks let you keep your keys; the off-airport sites do not.

Off-airport operators move cars around their compounds and need the keys to do it. Some ask specifically for a physical key. Take house keys off the ring before you hand it over, and keep a spare at home.

Late and early flights

Check the operating hours against your flight times.

The airport's buses run 24 hours. So do I Love, APH and Maple, per their listings. SMG stops just before midnight and restarts at four, which matters for delayed evening arrivals. For a flight landing after midnight, an official car park or a 24-hour operator avoids a long wait.

Late back

The airport's terms allow up to six hours past your booked exit time without charge in most official car parks.

Beyond that, the official long stay car parks charge overstays per day. Off-airport operators set their own rates, from £20 to £25 a day in the listings we checked. Amend the booking before you fly home when dates change.

Long stay with an electric car

The airport's parking terms describe an EV charging booking as a single charge of at least five hours on a charger of at least 7kW, require a working cable to be left in the car, and say a full battery cannot be promised.

Pack the cable and charge the car fully before you leave home. The InstaVolt hub at Priors Green in Takeley has rapid chargers for a top-up on the way home.

Long stay with a family

With children and luggage, the bus and the keys matter more than the last few pounds.

The official buses are free for everyone and run all night, which helps with an early flight and tired children on the way home. Off-airport sites that charge per person for the bus cost a family more than the headline price suggests. A family of four on SMG pays the levy eight times over a return trip, which closes most of the gap to JetParks.

Some operators also set limits worth knowing: Peak says its service is not suitable for small children who need car seats. Read the operator's notes before booking.

Long stay without a bus

For a long trip with no bus at all, Short Stay Blue is the cheapest walk-in option.

Blue is ten to twelve minutes on foot from the terminal, and Green is a covered five to eight. Both cost more than JetParks or Long Stay over a week, but some travellers value walking straight to the car on a cold night. See the Short Stay guide.

Winter trips

Stansted's long stay car parks are open-air, so plan for frost.

Leave a scraper and de-icer in the car, and keep a warm layer in your hand luggage for the wait at the bus stop. The airport's buses run all night, so a late winter arrival does not leave you stranded, but allow a little extra time to clear the windscreen before driving off.

How long stay compares with the rest of Stansted

Long stay is the cheapest way to park for a week, but not the only sensible one.

For three nights or fewer, Mid Stay often works out cheapest because of the minimum stays elsewhere. For families with lots of luggage, the airport's own Meet & Greet costs only a little more than Mid Stay over eight days on our sample dates. The Stansted parking hub lists every product side by side.

Coming home

The return is where long stay car parks differ most.

At the airport's car parks, you walk to the right bus stop and ride back; the car is where you left it. At off-airport sites you usually call first and wait for a pick-up, then collect your keys at reception. After a late flight, the official buses running all night can make the difference between being home in an hour and waiting in the cold.

Booking tips

Book early, apply the code and never turn up without a booking.

Long Stay and JetParks are pre-book only. Mid Stay takes turn-up drivers, but at a daily rate that makes a week very expensive. Prices move with demand, so the earlier you book, the better, especially for school holidays, when the cheapest products sell out first. Our code takes 30% off every product; see the Stansted discount codes page.

Long stay at Stansted: FAQs