Airport Parking Fees May Increase
Travelers flying in and out of the El Paso International Airport may soon have to shell out a few more dollars for parking.
Airport officials with the Department of Aviation say it is the price they will have to pay in order to ease overcrowding at the airport’s parking lots.
Proposed changes include extending free parking from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, parking fees would double under the plan from $.75 to $1.50. For long-term parking, airport officials want to increase the maximum daily amount paid to $5.00 and they want to eliminate a weekly fee cap, now set at $22.
“We just barely managed to snag a spot, and it was the only one available,” Courtney Lanham said. “It’s always crowded so I think the increase would be a good thing for the airport.
Airport officials also want to increase the airport’s budget 3.1 percent, roughly an $800,000 increase. However, airport officials say very little of that money would be directed toward the two projects they’re really eager to get underway. There are still plans to build a resort hotel next to the Butterfield Trail Golf Course and a science technology park on 150 acres located just off of Global Reach.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” William Gibson said. “A lot of people come down here and it’s a pain in the butt finding a place to stay, so if they build one right here, that would be great.”
Because the airport and its properties fall under the Department of Aviation, a city department, officials need approval from city council before it can move forward with its budget. Airport officials say the department does not take a single penny of taxpayer money. Other than about $5 million dollars, airport officials say it is completely self-sufficient.
