Passengers stranded without car in ‘torrential rain at 4am’ at Birmingham Airport after ‘meet and greet’ valet parking service ‘ceased’

• Stuck without your car? Email [email protected]

Passengers were stranded without their car in torrential rain at 4am after Birmingham Airport’s valet service stopped working.

Customers arriving from overseas flights were unable to access their cars, were told to report them stolen to the police and were forced to find alternative routes home.

The parking firm, Blue Circle, suspended operations Monday evening and is in the process of canceling and refunding customers, the airport said.

But passengers arriving at the airport early Wednesday morning were unaware of the developments and were forced to wait in biblical downpours as they scrambled to find out how to retrieve their cars.

Another valet company, Maple Parking, has since stepped in and spent the past two days trying to reunite customers with their vehicles.

A passenger claims he was told the customer’s car keys “were lost” during handover between operators.

Among those caught up in the chaos was 71-year-old John Woodward, who had just returned from Turkey.

Arriving at 4.15am, John said he called three numbers provided on a ticket for Blue Circle – but found all the lines were “in order”.

He said: “I had seen on social media that Blue Circle Parking had wrecked so I was expecting calls to go unanswered and we would have to walk up to the meet and greet and wait while they got the car.

“I did that, in the pouring rain, and went into reception and handed in my parking pass.

“I was told ‘we’re Maple Parking and we manage the car park now but you have to see him outside by the ticket machine to collect your car’. I went to the car and stood in line.

“The two elderly couples in front of me had to get home to Nottingham and Bristol and were told ‘we have no idea where your cars are and you need to report them to West Midlands Police as stolen.’

Mr Woodward added that the Bristol-bound man called West Midlands Police to explain the situation and was told it was “a civil matter” and “nothing to do with the police”.

The airport is also said to have told customers that the issue was with a third party and was therefore not responsible for the difficulties.

Desperate to get home, families contacted taxi firms and in some cases were quoted more than £150 for their journeys.

Mr Woodward added: “They knew yesterday that Blue Circle Parking had gone rogue, as I did, but they made no plans to find those cars for the distraught returning tourists.

“I feel that TUI and Birmingham Airport could have arranged for someone to come to arrivals to explain the situation and a way forward, rather than allowing people to walk into the car park in the rain and then being told ‘your car is disappeared”.

Another passenger who landed at 1am was told his keys had been lost in the handover process and he was “one of the lucky ones”.

Tom Kiss, who runs Maple Parking, said he had to divert staff from Gatwick to help deal with the chaos at Birmingham and admitted the task was a difficult one as keys were lost and those returning to looking for the sun were worried.

He said: “We don’t know how many cars at the moment and obviously some of them here are from people who are still gone so it will take a few weeks to sort out.”

“We’re just trying to reunite owners with their cars as soon as possible.”

A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: “We have been informed by off-site parking provider Blue Circle that it has suspended operations. Blue Circle customers with future bookings with this provider will be contacted by the operator.

“Customers using the Blue Circle car park may also have booked through Holiday Extras and other parking aggregators. We advise customers to check and contact their booking provider accordingly.

“The airport and its parking partner NCP are trying to assist returning customers who are immediately affected by the cessation of the Blue Circle service. For all customers who have their parking plans interrupted, the official Birmingham Airport parking options can be booked here.

Seamus McCauley, Head of Public Affairs at Holiday Extras, said: “Blue Circle Parking – an independent airport parking provider that was sold through Holiday Extras – has stopped collecting and delivering our customers’ cars at Birmingham Airport.

“As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we took immediate action to ensure our customers were able to drop off and pick up their cars as planned.

“We are very sorry that some of our customers experienced a delay in collecting their vehicles on Monday and Tuesday.

“Everyone with a Blue Circle booking can now drop off and collect their car as planned and their booking will be managed by our partners at Maple Parking.

“Booking through an established and reputable airport parking provider such as Holiday Extras ensures that customers’ bookings are secure, regardless of what happens with the final airport parking service provider.”

West Midlands Police and Blue Circle have been contacted for comment.