Cancelling or changing a car park booking at BER Airport: how it works

A strike at BER, an illness in the family, a project that is postponed – sometimes the trip does not take place as planned. For the booked car park the question then arises: what does cancelling cost, and how do I book again? Here you will learn which rules apply at Friend-Park, how to cancel online and what you should check with direct bookings with the provider.

The deadlines in detail

The Friend-Park Terms and Conditions, § 10, are decisive. What matters is the time of your cancellation relative to the booked start of the service – i.e. the planned handover of the car, not the departure:

Time of cancellation	Consequence
More than 24 hours beforehand	Free of charge, full refund for online payment
Less than 24 hours beforehand	Later: provider’s terms apply
No cancellation, did not turn up	Full fee possible

Cancelling online – with and without an account

With a customer account you will find the booking in your overview. Without an account, use Find booking: enter your email address and booking number and you receive a secure link that is valid for 72 hours. Online cancellations are possible up to 24 hours before the vehicle handover at the latest. The steps are also shown in the frequently asked questions about cancelling.

New dates? How to rebook

There is no direct rebooking to other days or another service. The clean way: cancel the old booking free of charge and create a new booking with the right details. If time is short, write to us via the contact form. You change smaller details – number plate, vehicle, name, flight number, notes – yourself up to the handover; see the frequently asked questions about changing a booking.

Strike or cancellation at BER

If strikes or flight cancellations are announced: react immediately. The earlier you cancel, the more likely you are to stay within the free cancellation period. If the news only comes on the day of departure, get in touch immediately anyway. The frequently asked questions about a cancelled flight give further advice.

Return flight later than planned

If the trip is extended, let the provider know so that your car is not made ready at the old time, and clarify how the additional days will be charged. See also the frequently asked questions about a delayed return flight.

Booked directly with the provider?

Then this provider's conditions apply. Read them before booking: deadline for free cancellation, fees for changes, type of refund. These points are part of every provider selection – see Choosing a parking service at BER.

What to do if the flight is cancelled on the day of travel?

1. Check in the airline's app whether a replacement flight is offered and when.
2. Decide whether you still need the car park – perhaps only at a different time.
3. Contact the parking provider or Friend-Park before the car is handed over.
4. Keep the airline's cancellation notice; it may be important for your claims against the airline.

Claims relating to a cancelled flight are to be made against the airline, not the parking provider. The cancellation rules described above apply to the car park.

Warning strikes and flight cancellations in Berlin

BER, too, repeatedly sees industrial action, such as warning strikes by ground staff or aviation security staff. They are often announced only shortly beforehand and can severely restrict flight operations for an entire day. If you are affected, you should immediately check whether your flight is going ahead and adjust your parking booking. If the booked start of parking is still more than 24 hours away, cancellation is free of charge at Friend-Park. If you only learn of the cancellation on the day of departure, contact our customer service immediately anyway – the terms of the respective provider then apply.

When the tour operator changes the flight times

With package holidays it happens that the tour operator changes the flight times weeks before the trip – sometimes by just an hour, sometimes to another day. After every such notification, check your parking booking. A changed flight number or a slightly shifted time can often already be reflected in the booking details at Friend-Park or agreed with the provider. If the trip is moved by a day, cancel in good time and book the new period.

Storms and severe weather

In autumn and winter, storms can disrupt air traffic in northern Germany. If your flight is cancelled or postponed as a result, the same rules apply to the car park as for any other reason: cancel or adjust in good time. Weather-related cancellations cannot be planned by anyone – all the more important to know the cancellation deadline and have the booking number and contact details to hand.

The difference between changing and cancelling

At Friend-Park you can change the name, vehicle, number plate, flight details and notes yourself up to the vehicle handover. For a different period or a different service, however, you need a new booking. This separation is deliberately kept simple: small corrections are quick, larger changes go through cancellation and rebooking so that price and availability for the new period are calculated correctly.

Collecting documents

Create a folder in your email inbox for each trip and save the booking confirmation, the cancellation confirmation and, where applicable, messages from the airline there. If questions about the refund arise later or you want to claim costs from travel cancellation insurance, you will have everything together.

Deadlines using the example of a Berlin holiday flight

Suppose your holiday flight departs on Saturday at 6:15 from Terminal 1, and you have booked the valet handover for 4:00. Then free cancellation ends on Friday at 4:00 – in the middle of the night before the actual day of travel. If you realise on Friday evening that the trip is not going ahead, you are already within the 24-hour period. With early flights it is therefore particularly worthwhile to enter the deadline exactly in your calendar and not to put off decisions about the trip until the evening before.

Limiting costs when time is short

Even if you have missed the free cancellation period, cancelling is worthwhile. Within the last 24 hours, cancellation via Friend-Park is no longer possible; the provider’s terms apply. Cancelling instead of staying away therefore limits the costs. And it helps the provider to give the space to someone else – a real difference on a busy holiday day at BER.

Extending instead of cancelling

Not every change of plan is a cancellation. Sometimes the holiday simply gets longer. Then it is not about cancelling but about extending the parking period. Inform the provider as early as possible and clarify how the extra days will be charged; for a booking via Friend-Park, also get in touch via the contact form.

Who cancels for group trips?

If several cars of a travel group or club drive to BER and the trip is cancelled, each individual booking must be cancelled. It is easiest if one person made all the bookings and cancels them centrally. If everyone booked themselves, the group should coordinate so that nobody misses the deadline. Especially with a cancellation on Thursday evening for a Saturday flight, quick action is needed.

In brief

React early, measure the deadline from the booked start of parking, change small details yourself and book again for new times: with these rules you remain able to act at BER in the event of strikes, storms or changed flight times and avoid unnecessary costs.

And if you are unsure which route is the right one in your case, write to us in good time via the contact form – we will help you as long as there is still enough time before parking begins.

How to avoid cancellation costs

• Only book once the flight is confirmed.
• Enter the 24-hour deadline in your calendar.
• Keep the booking number and email to hand.
• If strikes are reported, check immediately whether your flight is affected.

You can book again as soon as offers are available via the page Parking at Berlin Airport. Planning tips are in the guide Reserving a car park at BER.