Economy Parking Ends At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Get ready to dig a little deeper to pay for parking at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
In an effort to meet the demand of its growing passenger count, the airport is closing its Economy Parking Lot so that passengers can park in more than 3,000 newly added public parking spots on the top three floors of its Cypress Garage.
That means passengers who used to pay $7.50 per day in the economy lot will now have to pay $15.00 per day in the Cypress Garage although they will be closer to the terminal.
It's a big disappointment for Judy and John who are heading out on a 10-day trip. "It makes a difference," Judy said, "You factor that in when you decide where to park and how to park."
Marta Corbi parks here nearly every weekend. If she wants to park at the airport, she'll have to pay 15 dollars a day in the garage. "It will be such a disappointment," Corbi said. "I don't know what I'll do because it's doubling what I pay mostly for 2 or 3 nights."
The parking spaces on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors of the Cypress Garage will be open to the public May 15.
Passenger traffic has grown by 10 million over the last decade which is the reason behind the change.
Airport employees will park in the Airport Economy Lot in the 2300 block of SW 42nd Street, which is closing to the public April 19, but the transition starts Saturday, April 1st when parking staff will ask customers their return date before entering.
If it's any consolation airport officials say it's not permanent. "It's sad to see that the economy lot is leaving for now," said airport spokesman Greg Meyer. "But it is coming back, but it's unfortunate that we have to do the 15 dollar parking here but it's the only thing we can do at this point based on what we're dealing with."
Your low-cost options are to catch a ride to the airport or use one of the nearby off property sites and shuttle over to the terminal.
Travelers who leave town before April 19 will have until April 30 to move their vehicles out of the lot. They won't be allowed into the economy lot if they are returning after April 30.
Airport employees who previously parked in the Cypress garage will use the economy lot beginning May 1.
Miami International Airport did something similar 3 years ago. They closed their remote economy lot to the public and made it employee parking. MIA also experienced a large growth in airport employees outgrowing the parking they were using.
