2013-08-16 — /travelprnews.com/ — Budapest Airport has had to provide additional parking spaces near Terminal 2, in order to prevent the Holiday Plus and the Holiday Car Parks filling up. Even the airport operator’s parking specialists have been surprised by just how popular the online booking of parking spaces has become among motorists, in the space of just two months.
Budapest Airport is offering four different car parks in its online booking engine, the Terminal, Business, Holiday and Holiday Plus Car Parks. The Premium Car Park, i.e. the kerbside of Terminal 2, is not part of the system, as it is only intended for ultra-short-term parking, whilst drivers pick up or drop off passengers. The Holiday and Holiday Plus Car Parks have become especially popular during the summer travel season, where, based on booking data, utilization has exceeded 80%, a very high level.
Budapest Airport developed online booking for parking in excess of 24 hours. With online parking, it is possible to book and pay for parking using a computer or smartphone, at least 24 hours prior to the planned time of departure – and that is all it takes. All motorists then have to do is to print out the confirmation bearing a barcode. Then, when they arrive at the car park, they just have to wait for the license plate recognition system to issue a ticket, and they are free to enter.
“I can honestly say, even we were surprised just how quickly the online booking system became popular with passengers,” said Manel Moreno, head of kerbside management for Budapest Airport. “We have never been able to introduce such a product so quickly to the market. I am certain that with this product, we are providing a service that passengers have long been looking for at the airport. With online parking, everyone can relax and concentrate on their holiday, safe in the knowledge that their parking space is reserved, and in the guarded car park, that at the end of their holidays, their car will be waiting for them where they left it.”