Stansted Airport Meet and Greet Parking

How meet and greet works at Stansted

You hand the car to a driver close to the terminal, walk in, and collect it in the same place when you land.

1. Call ahead. Most operators want a call 10 to 30 minutes before you arrive.
2. Hand over. Give the driver the car and keys.
3. Fly. The car goes to a secure compound.
4. Return. Call when you land; the car comes back to you.

The airport's own service is slightly different: you drive into its dedicated car park beside the terminal and hand the keys over at reception, with no phone call needed.

Every meet and greet we sell

Seven products, from SMG Value Plus to I Love's Valet.

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

The airport's own Meet & Greet

The official service is one of the cheapest handovers at Stansted, and the car stays on airport land.

You follow the Short Stay signs from the Coopers End roundabout and take the second left marked M&G. Cameras record the car in the drop-off bay, and staff at reception take your keys. Check-in is about two minutes' walk. The limit is 2.0 metres, and motorcycles are not accepted. See the official Meet & Greet page.

SMG: Value Plus and VIP

SMG sells two handovers: Value Plus at the lowest price, VIP with airport fees included.

Both run from 4:00am to 11:59pm, with the car kept in SMG's compound. Resellers say Value Plus excludes the airport exit fees of £7 to £10 each way; VIP listings include the fees and add flight monitoring. See the SMG Meet & Greet page.

I Love and its Valet option

I Love meets you on the forecourt, and its Valet product adds an exterior wash.

The operator says its drivers are over 25 with at least two years' experience, and its CCTV compound has been police checked. The Valet version costs only a few pounds more than the standard product over eight days. See the I Love Meet & Greet page.

APH

APH hands over in Zone C of the Express Set Down, with airport access fees included.

APH's compound is operated by I Love Meet & Greet, per its listing, and you have ten minutes to exit on return. It is near the top of the price range. See the APH Meet & Greet page.

Which to choose

Most travellers get the best value from the airport's own service or SMG.

What to have ready

A good handover takes five minutes; a poor one takes twenty.

1. The confirmation. With the operator's phone number.
2. One key. House keys off the ring.
3. A clear car. Valuables out, nothing loose in the boot.
4. Your return flight. The number, so the driver can track it.

Most operators record the car's condition at the handover. Walk round it with the driver, and take your own photos of the bodywork and the mileage.

Meet and greet for families

Handovers suit families best, because the car is unloaded right where you check in.

With children, a buggy and several cases, stopping at the terminal and walking straight in removes the bus altogether. The airport's own service keeps things simple, with no phone calls; the kerbside operators save a few more steps. For large family cars, check the height and size limits first.

Early flights and late landings

Check the operating hours against your flight times.

SMG's handovers run from 4:00am to 11:59pm, per listings. The airport's own Meet & Greet has its own car park beside the terminal. For a flight landing after midnight, confirm the operator will be there before you book. We set out prices and transfer details on our Stansted park and ride page.

Meet and greet or a car park

At Stansted, the gap between a handover and parking yourself is smaller than you might expect.

The airport's own Meet & Greet costs only a little more than Short Stay Blue over eight days on our sample dates, and far less than the Premium Short Stay zones. For anyone who would otherwise walk ten minutes from a car park, the handover is worth pricing.

Airport fees and exit charges

Kerbside handovers use the airport's roads, and someone pays the airport for that.

Some operators include the airport's access or exit fees in the price; others leave them for you to pay on the day. SMG VIP and APH include them, per their listings, and SMG Value Plus does not. Read the confirmation, and add any fees to the price before comparing. The airport's own Express Set Down charge is £10 for up to 15 minutes, which gives a sense of the amounts involved. Our Stansted parking discount codes page explains how to apply the code at checkout.

Large vehicles

Meet and greet is mostly for standard cars.

The airport's Meet & Greet stops at 2.0 metres. SMG turns away large vehicles and charges from £40 extra for cars that exceed a standard bay. APH accepts standard cars and vans only. For anything bigger, a car park is the better choice.

When flights are delayed

Tell the operator early.

SMG VIP's listing says the team tracks arrival times. The airport's terms allow six hours past the booked exit time before overstay charges on its Meet & Greet. For other operators, call as soon as you know, and keep the confirmation's phone number handy. Most handovers can be moved by an hour or two without fuss when you call ahead; turning up unannounced hours late is what causes long waits and extra charges.

Meet and greet at Stansted: FAQs