Customer choice is key to Meet & Greet improvements at East Midlands Airport
East Midlands Airport is now putting the choice in the hands of its Meet & Greet customers 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 service users have the option to fill in details on easy-to-use kiosks in the Meet & Greet office which produce a key tag for the keys to be safely deposited.
This avoids the need to wait to be served by a member of staff in the Meet & Greet office – although this option is still available. However at busy times queues can build up and 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 move, which came into effect this week, 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. 
This is the latest in a series of improvements carried out as part of East Midlands Airport’s £120m investment programme, which has also seen the transformation of its security hall along with new and refurbished customer facilities including shops, restaurants, children’s play zone, quiet room and upgraded toilet facilities throughout the terminal.
Meet & Greet is a hugely popular service, with prices from £79 (based on an eight-day stay in October 2026) comparing well with other parking options. Last year it saw an increase in customer satisfaction, driving an overall rise of 10.5% in satisfaction with landside services to a score of 68 – taking it 27 points above target.
Director of Customer Services and Planning at East Midlands Airport, 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.”