A man who tricked holidaymakers into handing over more than £1.3 million for “secure” Heathrow parking has been jailed after it emerged cars were being abandoned in fields, residential
streets, and even short-stay car parks.
The scam
Sonny Kaushal, 37, from Buckinghamshire, set up a company called Airtime Parking Ltd, promising customers CCTV, round-the-clock patrols, and professional drivers. The business claimed it could safely store up to 1,000 vehicles near Heathrow.
But the reality was far from that. Instead of a secure compound, cars were left scattered across unsafe and inappropriate locations – including a field in Datchet, industrial estates, suburban streets in Hillingdon, and Heathrow’s own short-stay car park. Some vehicles were damaged, some received parking tickets, and customer complaints went unanswered.
Court case
At Isleworth Crown Court, Kaushal admitted fraudulent trading and unfair commercial practices. Judge Edmunds KC described the scheme as a scam that ran for more than six months and “must have affected thousands” of people.
The judge rejected Kaushal’s defence that he was simply incompetent, saying he had “hidden behind a mask of ignorance” to disguise deliberate dishonesty.
How it came to light
Hillingdon Council began investigating after dozens of complaints were made to Citizens Advice in 2022. Reviews soon told the story: 93% of 116 Trustpilot reviewers gave Airtime Parking just one star.
The sentence
Kaushal was jailed for 32 months. He was also ordered to pay back more than £700,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act – a figure well short of the estimated £1.35m gained from the fraud. If he fails to repay within three months, he could face an additional five years behind bars.
On top of that, Kaushal must pay over £17,000 in costs and compensation and has been banned from being a company director for 10 years. Photo by Thomas Nugent, Wikimedia commons.
