Parking at Málaga Airport: Aena's five car parks, prices and drop-off rules

The five official car parks

Aena lists exactly five car parks at Málaga Airport. The airport is one connected passenger terminal; car-park names and Aena's booking site still use the old zone labels T2 and T3, but these are parts of the same building, not separate terminals. On the road signs you will see the Spanish names:

• Parking general - the General car park, a multi-storey car park within walking distance of the terminal.
• Parking de larga estancia - the Long-stay car park, an open-air car park away from the terminal, linked by a free shuttle bus.
• Parking express - the Express car park beside departures, for dropping people off.
• Parking llegadas - the Arrivals car park, on the arrivals side, for meeting people.
• Parking VIP - a valet service with 11 spaces, not a car park you park in yourself.

Use these five names when you book, ask for directions or follow signs. Aena does not list a separate motorcycle, coach or staff car park for the public at Málaga.

Aena gives different coordinates for the same car parks on different pages of its website, so we do not quote walking distances in metres. Go by Aena's published transfer times and the signs: Aena describes the Express car park as the one closest to the departures area, and the Long-stay car park is served by a free shuttle bus.

Which car park should you use?

• Away for less than four days: Aena calls the General car park "ideal for stays of less than four days". You walk to the terminal.
• Away for four days or more: the Long-stay car park is cheaper on every multi-day price we checked and is Aena's holiday option. Allow time for the shuttle.
• Dropping someone off at departures: the Express car park, if you will be back out within 10 minutes. If you need longer, use the General car park, which Aena also recommends for dropping off and picking up.
• Meeting someone off a flight: the Arrivals car park, which Aena describes as having the fastest access to the arrivals area and the widest spaces.
• Handing over the keys: the VIP valet service. Staff take your car in departures and bring it back to arrivals.
• Tall vehicle or roof box: General and VIP have a 2.10 m limit; Long-stay allows 3.50 m; Aena's booking site advertises the Arrivals car park with no height limit.
• Returning a hire car: none of these. Follow the car-rental signs instead; see car rental at Málaga Airport.

What it costs: booking online versus turning up

Aena does not publish a fixed tariff sheet for its Málaga car parks. Prices come from its booking site and change with dates and demand. The figures below are what Aena's own booking site showed on 9 October 2026 for stays starting on 20 October 2026. Each cell shows the online price first and Aena's "price without booking" for the same period second. Treat them as examples, not promises, and check the live price before you travel.

• The Express car park is not sold online at all and Aena publishes no price for it.
• The VIP valet is sold only as a prepaid booking, so there is no walk-up price.
• For a same-day return (we tested 10:00 to 23:00) Aena sells "Ida y Vuelta en el día" products for General, Arrivals and VIP; Long-stay was not offered for that duration. The booking site would not quote stays of one to three hours at all.
• For stays of roughly 9 to 15 days the site switches to flat-rate products ("Tarifa plana").
• For General, Long-stay and Arrivals you can choose "pay on exit" or "pay in advance"; on every date we tested both showed the same price.

Aena Club discounts. Aena Club is Aena's loyalty scheme. Its free BASIC plan gives 5% off online booking prices, plus another 5% if you book for a zero-emissions vehicle; the paid PLUS plan gives 15-20% and the VIP plan 20-25% (Aena Club figures, checked 9 October 2026). In our checks the Aena Club price shown was exactly 5% below the web price. Membership is also what you need to pay for parking in the Aena app.

General car park (Parking general)

The General car park is a multi-storey car park with 1,384 spaces, 36 bays for people with reduced mobility and a 2.10 m height limit. Aena recommends it for stays under four days and for dropping off or picking up passengers, and its booking site says it is about 2 minutes on foot to the T2 zone and 3 minutes to the T3 zone via a moving walkway.

• Toilets on floors 0, 2 and 3.
• The car-park office is on floor 0, column 23C. This is the on-site point to ask about your stay, tariffs or a problem with your car.
• Mobile payment through the Aena app is available.
• You do not need a booking: Aena states that access without a booking is always guaranteed at the General and Express car parks. Booking is still far cheaper (see prices above).

Long-stay car park and the free shuttle

The Long-stay car park (Parking de larga estancia) is an open-air car park with 837 covered spaces (the bays have overhead cover; it is not an indoor car park), 18 reduced-mobility bays and a 3.50 m height limit. It is open 24 hours, accepts mobile payment and has toilets next to its service office.

Shuttle bus. A free shuttle runs between the car park and the terminal every 15 minutes from 07:00 to 00:00. From 00:00 to 07:00 it runs on demand: call 717 190 914. On your return you are picked up at the arrivals area. Aena gives two different transfer times for this shuttle (about 5 minutes on the car-park page, 10 to 11 minutes on its booking site), so allow the longer one, especially before an early flight.

Save the night-time number in your phone before you travel: if your flight leaves early in the morning, you will need it to call the bus.

Dropping off and picking up: Express and Arrivals car parks

Aena does not publish a named kiss-and-fly area at Málaga. For a quick drop-off or pick-up, use one of its car parks.

Express car park (Parking express): dropping off at departures

The Express car park has 363 spaces and 11 reduced-mobility bays. Aena's rules, as published:

• The first 10 minutes are free. If you leave within 10 minutes, go straight to the exit without putting your ticket through the pay machine. (Aena's Spanish page describes the amount as credited, its English page as free; either way you pay nothing within 10 minutes.)
• After 10 minutes you pay for the whole stay from the moment you entered, not just the extra time, at the current rate.
• Maximum stay: 2 hours. After that the maximum daily amount is payable and the vehicle may be towed. You then pay both the towing and the full stay.

Price: Aena does not publish a price for the Express car park, on its website or in its booking site. The rate is displayed at the barrier and can be asked for at the car-park office or checked in the Aena app. Read it before you commit.

If you need more than 10 minutes, for example to help with luggage or a wheelchair, park in the General car park instead. It has no 2-hour cap.

Arrivals car park (Parking llegadas): meeting a flight

The Arrivals car park has 450 spaces and 6 reduced-mobility bays. Aena describes it as having the fastest, most direct access to the arrivals area; its booking site calls it the car park with the widest spaces, with no height limit and a 1-2 minute transfer to the terminal. It is sold online as well as walk-up.

• Do not count on a free grace period here. Aena's English page for this car park mentions free parking under 10 minutes, but the Spanish page for the same car park does not. Assume you pay from the first minute.
• Aena publishes no re-entry rule. If you drive out and come back in, expect a new ticket and a new charge, so park once and wait inside.
• Check the live arrival time on the Málaga arrivals board before you set off.

Taking a taxi or a ride-hailing car instead? See taxis and ride-hailing at Málaga Airport; follow the pick-up point shown in your app.

VIP valet parking (Parking VIP)

Parking VIP is a valet (meet-and-greet) service, not a premium car park. It has only 11 spaces and 2 reduced-mobility bays.

1. Book and pay in advance. It is sold only as a prepaid booking, and with 11 spaces you should not count on late availability.
2. When you leave, staff meet you in the departures area and take the car away. Aena's booking site describes the hand-over at the door of the T3 zone.
3. When you return, the car is handed back to you in the arrivals area.
4. Extra services such as washing, servicing and the Spanish roadworthiness test (ITV) can be requested. Aena publishes no price list for them.

The 2.10 m height limit applies. If you would rather not hand over your keys, choose the General or Long-stay car park.

Booking, changing and cancelling

Book at parking.aena.es, in the Aena app ("Book your Car Park") or by phone on (+34) 913 211 000. Aena's rules for Málaga:

• Book at least 3 hours before you arrive. That is the minimum in Aena's Málaga parking FAQ; another Aena page mentions 30 minutes, so plan on 3 hours to be safe.
• Enter the number plate exactly. If the plate on the booking does not match the car, the booking is not valid. This catches people who switch to another car at the last minute.
• A booking is for a car park, not a bay. You park in any free space in the car park you booked.
• Arriving early or late: you can enter up to 3 hours before your booked time, and the booking stays valid if you arrive within 99 hours after it.
• Coming back late: once a booking has started you cannot change it. You get two courtesy hours after the booked end; after that the extra time is charged by the minute, up to a daily maximum that depends on the car park and is stated in your confirmation e-mail.
• Changes and cancellations: in the app, under "Manage bookings" on parking.aena.es (using your e-mail and booking reference), or by phone.

Cancelling a prepaid booking (Aena's conditions shown on its booking site, checked 9 October 2026):

• You can change personal details free of charge until 30 minutes before the booking starts.
• Free cancellation is available for up to 14 calendar days, provided the entry date has not passed and the booking has not been used.
• After that, a 20% fee applies if you cancel less than 48 hours before entry, or 10% if more than 48 hours before.
• No cancellation is possible in the last 30 minutes, and there is no refund for an unused booking. Refunds go back to the original payment method.

Aena's booking site shows these cancellation terms only for the prepaid products; we found no separate terms for "pay on exit" bookings.

Entering, paying and leaving

Your number plate is read at the barrier

"Plate recognition" means four different things in Aena's car parks, and only one of them is missing at Málaga:

1. Plate reading at the barrier - in use at Málaga. When you drive in, your plate is read and a ticket is issued automatically; you do not press any button. If you have a booking, the plate is linked to it.
2. Prepaid booking - available at Málaga. If you paid in advance and do not overstay, Aena says you can go straight to the exit without visiting a pay machine.
3. Paying in the Aena app - available at Málaga. Aena Club members can pay for a stay in the app, with or without a booking, for up to three registered plates.
4. Automatic "Pago por Matrícula" account charging - not offered at Málaga. This Aena service, where the barrier opens with no ticket and the stay is charged to a registered card on exit, is listed for five other Aena airports, not Málaga.

So expect a ticket on entry and a payment before you leave, unless you prepaid.

Check your ticket at the barrier

If you booked, the ticket must show your booking reference (localizer) and your plate. If the reference is not printed, keep the ticket and, on your return, go to the staffed pay desk rather than a machine: the desk has to confirm the stay, car park and price against your booking.

Paying

Pay before you go back to your car: at a pay machine, at the staffed desk, or in the Aena app. Aena's rules say to use the automatic machines first and the staffed desk or the app where there are none; the car-park office also takes payment. Cash and card are both accepted at the desk and the machines. Aena does not publish which floor the machines are on, so follow the signs inside the car park.

Prepaid? Aena's Málaga page says you can go straight to the exit if you have not overstayed, but Aena's contract conditions say a prepaid ticket must still be validated before leaving (at the office, a machine or in the app). Expect to drive straight out, but leave a few minutes in case you need a machine.

At the exit, and if something goes wrong

• The exit barrier opens automatically once the stay is paid; you do not insert the ticket.
• Barrier will not open or no ticket comes out: press the information button on the intercom at the barrier and staff will answer. Do not reverse out or follow another car through.
• Lost ticket: you must identify yourself, prove the car is yours and pay for the actual length of stay.
• Invoices: through "Manage bookings" on parking.aena.es; for app payments, through your Aena Club account.

Rules, towing, EV charging and contacts

Things that can get a car towed

Aena's rules of use for its car parks allow towing of vehicles parked outside marked bays, on roadways or on crossings; vehicles in a reduced-mobility bay without authorisation; non-electric vehicles in an electric-vehicle bay, or electric vehicles in one without charging; and motorcycles outside motorcycle bays. The driver then pays the tow at current rates plus the actual stay. In the Express car park, staying beyond 2 hours is also a towing ground. Aena does not publish the towing price.

Other rules worth knowing

• Park within one marked bay; a car taking up more than one space can be charged for the space it occupies.
• Speed limit 10 km/h; no smoking; do not leave animals in or outside the car.
• Photographing or filming the car-park installations is not allowed without prior authorisation.

Electric-vehicle charging

There are electric-vehicle charging bays at the terminal. Aena publishes no connector type, power, operator or price, so check the units on site and do not plan a charge around them. Charging anywhere other than a designated point is prohibited, and occupying a charging bay without charging can get the car towed.

Damage, theft and things left in the car

Aena states that its car parks carry civil liability insurance covering damage to, theft of or destruction of vehicles in its care, but not objects left inside the car. If you find damage, report it before you leave: Aena's rules ask you to fill in an accident report at the staffed pay desk before taking the car out. For anything lost at the airport, see lost property at Málaga Airport.

Hire cars and off-airport parking

Returning a hire car is a different task: Aena lists all its car-hire companies in the lower-level car-hire zone ("Basement. Terminal 2" on Aena's site), and the Aena car parks are for private cars. See car rental. Independent parking and valet companies also operate around the airport. They are not run or listed by Aena, so Aena's booking rules, Aena Club discounts and Aena's insurance do not apply to them; read their own terms.

Contacts

• Aena information and parking bookings: (+34) 913 211 000.
• Aena car parks by e-mail: [email protected].
• Long-stay shuttle, on demand 00:00-07:00: 717 190 914.
• General car park office: floor 0, column 23C (no phone or hours published).

More ways to reach the airport: all transport options.