Your car and your data — protected end to end
Airport Parking Direct operates to a strict security standard. Here's exactly how we protect your vehicle on the ground and your personal information online.
Vehicle security
Physical safeguards that apply every time we take custody of a car at Heathrow.
24/7 CCTV coverage
The compound perimeter, entry/exit lanes and vehicle bays are monitored by HD CCTV. Recordings are held under our lease with the landlord and disclosed only where legally required — CCTV does not itself guarantee against theft, loss or damage (see Clause 10).
Fenced, gated compound
Vehicles are stored inside a fully fenced, floodlit compound with controlled ANPR-assisted entry and exit — no public access at any time.
Secure key custody
Unless expressly agreed otherwise, all keys are left with our staff, logged on drop-off and stored in a locked key-safe. Keys are only handled by the driver assigned to move or return your vehicle (Clause 3).
Photo condition report
We photograph your vehicle on arrival and before return. Please inspect your car on collection and raise any concerns before it leaves our premises (Clause 6).
On-site staff & alarms
The compound is staffed during operating hours (04:00–00:00 daily) with monitored intruder alarms outside those hours.
Vetted, insured drivers
Every driver holds a full UK licence, has a clean DVLA record, references, and is covered by our motor trade road-risk insurance while moving your car between bays or to our alternative secure sites (Clause 4).
Vehicle release & anti-fraud controls
How we make sure your car is only ever handed back to you.
Named-customer release only
For fraud prevention and insurance, vehicles are released only to the customer named on the booking — not to partners, family, friends, colleagues or agents unless written authorisation has been approved by us in advance (Clause 13).
Photo ID at handover
We may require valid UK Driving Licence, Passport or other government-issued photo ID before releasing the vehicle. If ID cannot be provided we will refuse release until identity is verified.
Right of lien on unpaid charges
We hold a contractual lien over any vehicle in our custody for unpaid parking, storage, administration, recovery or legal costs, and may retain the vehicle and keys until all sums are paid in full (Clauses 11 & 14).
Full detail is in our Terms & Conditions — see Clauses 3 (Keys), 4 (Vehicle movement), 11–12 (Late & abandoned) and 13–14 (Release & lien).
Data & account security
How we handle your personal details, bookings and payments.
Encrypted in transit & at rest
All bookings and account data are transmitted over HTTPS/TLS and stored on managed cloud infrastructure with encryption at rest.
Least-privilege access
Row-level security means each customer can only see their own bookings. Staff access is role-based and audited.
UK GDPR & Data Protection Act 2018
We process names, contact details, vehicle information, travel information and payment records only for operational, legal and customer-service purposes (Clause 17). Data isn't sold to third parties.
Secure sign-in
Passwords are hashed with modern algorithms and never stored in plain text. Sign in with email or Google — your choice.
Minimal cookies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and remember your booking. No third-party ad tracking.
PCI-compliant payments
Card payments are handled by a PCI-DSS Level 1 payment processor. We never see or store your full card details.
Insurance, compliance & your rights
Airport Parking Direct operates under Heathrow's private-hire and parking framework, and is a registered data controller with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
- Public liability insurance in place
- Motor trade road-risk insurance while your car is in our care
- ICO-registered data controller
- Written incident-response process with 72-hour breach notification
- Right to access, correct or delete your personal data on request
- Complaints acknowledged and investigated — submit in writing within 7 days of collection (Clause 16)
- Cancellations: full refund more than 24 hours before arrival; within 24 hours a £30 administration fee applies; no refund for no-shows or early collection (Clause 15)
- Late collection: £35/day (or part) beyond the booked collection time; abandoned vehicles accrue £65/day after 14 days (Clauses 11 & 12)
Report a security or privacy concern
If you believe your vehicle, booking or personal data has been affected, contact our team immediately. We respond to all reports within 24 hours and follow a written incident-response process.
This page is maintained by Airport Parking Direct to answer common security and privacy questions. It describes controls currently in place and is not a third-party certification. Specific insurance policy numbers and our ICO registration reference are available on request.