New short-term parking rates to go into effect at AVL airport

Press release from Asheville Regional Airport:

A parking garage construction project is underway at Asheville Regional Airport (AVL), which has resulted in temporary changes to parking at the airport.  There is plenty of parking for passengers; however, the construction project has resulted in a temporarily reduced number of spaces for short-term parkers.  In order to discourage overnight travelers from parking in its short-term parking lot, and to insure parking availability for short-term users, AVL is changing short-term parking lot rates.  Specifically, the rate will remain at the current $1 for each half hour, up to four hours, to accommodate short-term users of the airport.  After four hours in this lot, a new flat rate of $25 per day will be charged. This fee change goes into effect beginning November 1, 2016.

Why the rate increase?  Long-term, overnight parkers are using the short-term spaces, leaving limited parking for visitors who only need to be at the airport for a short period of time, such as those who are picking up a passenger, or conducting business at the airport.

The fee change is intended to persuade long-term parkers to bypass the short-term lot and park in the long-term, pre-paid or credit card-only lots instead, where daily fees range from $6 to $8.  This, in turn, will insure that spaces in the short-term lot will be available to users who only need to park for a short time.

“It is a positive step forward for the airport to construct a parking garage, but there are operational issues that we must address in the interim,” said Lew Bleiweis, Executive Director at AVL.  “One such issue is making sure all those using the airport – travelers and short-term visitors – have ample parking available to them.”

A new pre-paid, shuttled lot is located directly across the street from the main entrance.  Travelers may opt to park in this lot, pre-pay $6 per day for the planned duration of their trip, and a shuttle will deliver them to and from the front door of the terminal.  The shuttle is in operation around-the-clock.

Also available to travelers is the traditional long-term lot near the terminal, and the credit card-only lot past the terminal on the right.  Both of these lots are available for $1.50 per hour, up to a maximum of $8 per day.

And for those picking up passengers, a great option is to use a convenient cell phone waiting lot located past the terminal on the right.  There is no charge to park in this lot, but visitors must wait in their vehicles until their passengers arrive, and then exit the lot and drive to the terminal curb to pick up passengers.

The new fee structure for the short-term lot is temporary, and will be in effect until the new parking garage opens next year.  When opened, the garage will offer 1,100 convenient parking spaces directly in front of the airport terminal to serve all customers’ needs.

Handicapped parking is still located in the short-term lot, directly in front of the terminal.  The fee for handicapped parking has not changed (long-term rate of $1.50 per hour, up to a maximum of $8 per day).