East Midlands Airport introduces new option for popular parking service - allowing customers to skip queues

East Midlands Airport has launched a new self-service option for its Meet & Greet customers, allowing them to skip queues by dropping off and collecting their car keys from new automated machines.

The new approach to the popular parking service, which allows customers to hand over car parking duties to members of airport staff to save time and effort, means that customers have the option to fill in details on easy-to-use kiosks in the Meet & Greet office.

The kiosks will produce a key tag for the keys to be safely deposited.

The airport says this will avoid the need to wait to be served by a member of staff in the Meet & Greet office – although this option is still available.

The self-serve option is designed to take less than two minutes to complete.

When customers return from their holidays, they will use a barcode provided by the Meet & Greet service to scan at newly installed automated lockers conveniently located in the arrivals hall.

This allows them to grab their keys and set off home without experiencing potential delays at the Meet & Greet office.

The launch of this service follows a refurbishment of the Meet & Greet office where reception staff will still be on hand to serve customers if preferred.

The area designated for Meet & Greet car collection, close to the terminal, has also recently been resurfaced and clearly laid out in colour-coded sections.

Customers are guided to green, yellow or red areas to help them easily find their vehicle.

Meet & Greet is a hugely popular service, with prices from £79 (based on an eight-day stay in October 2026).

According to the airport, it saw an increase in customer satisfaction last year.

The airport’s director of customer services and planning Mike Grimes said: “This is another great example of us focusing on giving our customers an effortless experience at the airport.

“The popularity of Meet & Greet means that at busy times, queues can sometimes build up and this self-serve option gives customers the choice to avoid them by dropping off and picking up their keys themselves. It makes the service even simpler and more appealing.

“We hope this innovation will help to drive up satisfaction even further – although we are already achieving exceptionally high scores which we are delighted about.”