It is a practice that occurs every single day at Heathrow Airport, just as it does at other airports all around the world.
You arrive in your car, park up, grab your suitcase and head off to the main terminal to catch your flight. Your car is going to be left unused for several days, and possibly up to two weeks.
How do you know that it will be safe?
Of course, car parking at Heathrow Airport is a business in its own right. The various companies that offer this service know that people are relying on them to make sure their cars are secure while they are away.
To that end, you will find a number of measures that have been put in place to ensure that your car does stay safe and secure while you are sunning yourself on a beach in foreign climes!
High security fences
This is a staple feature of the vast majority of car parks. They are usually enclosed by high wire security fences that would be very difficult to climb over. And because you can see through the fences no one would be able to get up to the car park and hide anywhere, as the security staff would be able to see them.
You will usually also find that the area is floodlit by high powered lamps. This means that the car park and all the cars are just as visible at night as they are during the day. It would be very difficult to steal a car from one of the Heathrow car parks with these measures alone.
CCTV cameras
These give an added degree of security to all those using the car parks. The security staff can watch the cameras from a main control room, so even the largest car parks can be constantly monitored for suspicious behaviour.
In short, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to break into one of the car parks and try to take a car without being spotted on camera.
24 hour security patrols
The car parking companies recognise that security cameras do have their limitations. Even those that can be swivelled on a remote basis will only have a certain area that they can look at.
That’s why security patrols also head out into the car parks on a regular basis, to make sure that nothing untoward is going on. They normally do this at night as well as during the day. This means that you can rest assured that even while you are enjoying your holiday, your car is being well looked after and monitored right round the clock.
Entrance and exit barriers
If you have had the need to use car parking at Heathrow Airport before, you will know that you have to wait for the barrier to be raised before you can drive into the car park. Similarly, when you leave you need to go through a barrier before you can leave. There are no other routes into or out of the car park.
You will need to have a ticket or some ID on you to be able to exit the car park in your car. The barrier will not be brought up automatically; so in the unlikely event that someone did manage to get into the car park and break into your car, they wouldn’t be able to leave the car park itself.
It would be impossible to drive through the fences or the barriers, so the person would be stuck.
Additional security features
Some car parks will also have other security features, although these should not be assumed to be at every location. For example some of the companies will take a photograph of your car and number plate when you arrive.
If you are going to book a particular car park to park your car in while you are away, you should check with that company to see what security measures they offer. Since all of them will differ slightly it pays to find out what to expect before you book your space. You can then choose the best service which offers the most comprehensive range of security measures.
In conclusion
In the end, most of us leave our cars at the airport and we don’t really think about them until we are almost ready to come home again. Thousands of people use these services and many of the car parks at Heathrow have been awarded security awards. If the car park you choose has been the recipient of such an award you will know that it has been inspected and confirmed to be highly secure.
You might expect to pay slightly more to use a car park like this, but it normally doesn’t make too much difference at all. And of course, it is well worth paying anyway for peace of mind.
Further Car Parking At Heathrow Information
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