A car parked at an airport for over a year racks up six-figure parking fee

One driver in Germany may be regretting their choice of parking after leaving their car at Berlin Brandenburg Airport for more than a year, racking up a truly astonishing parking fee.

The car, a VW Golf, was finally towed away on January 28, 2025 after more than 12 months in situ. The car was parked at the short-term parking lot at the departures area of the airport. There, the first ten minutes are free but the fees quickly rack up beyond that threshold.

The first 15 minutes of paid time costs 5€, while an hour costs 23€. Each subsequent hour costs another 23€, meaning that a single day of parking will be charged at 552€. After a year in the same spot, it’s thought the the total parking fees are more than 200,000€, for a car worth less than a tenth of that.

Local newspaper Berliner Zeitung reports that the vehicle has a Hanover license plate and has become a regular sight for regular travellers over the past year. Officials are yet to identify the owner but it’s possible that the car was dumped at the airport after being stolen.

The parking lot is not operated by the airport, but by a Stuttgart-based company called APCOA Deutschland GmbH. Berliner Zeitung contacted them for comment and the company confirmed that they would be seeking to collecting the outstanding fees.

“Whether parking fees owed in this context can be collected depends on whether the debtor can be identified and has the necessary financial means,” the spokesperson for APCOA explained.

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