Changes planned for airport parking

Council will establish new parking zones at the Airport in an effort to free up more parking spots for travellers.

Under the new parking layout the first parking bay will be restricted to two hours, the second bay will be restricted to 24-hours, and the third bay will remain as unlimited parking.

A smaller bay on the side of the carpark will also be reserved for hire cars.

Council's General Manager, James Roncon, said Council recognised change was needed in the carpark to better accommodate all airport users.

"There's been complaints about the parking situation at the airport for some time now, so we hope these new zones will go some way to alleviating the problem in the short term," he said.

"However we didn't want to just rush out and make radical changes, so we've made sure the there's still a good amount of 24-hour and unlimited parking still available.

"We do have smart parking technology installed at the airport that would allow us to easily issue fines if vehicles are parked too long, but as always we don't want to go down this path unless absolutely necessary.

"We'd ask that all airport users take note of these changes so everyone has reasonable access to the terminal."

Mr Roncon added that new parking zones would serve as an interim measure until a more permanent solution could be found to the congestion in the carpark.

"We've held initial discussions with the rental car companies about the possibility of working together to build an overflow carpark to store hire cars," he said.

"We understand it's crucial for the companies to have a good amount of cars on hand at the airport, especially given the demand for cars due to the amount of major projects that are going on around the city at the moment.

"We've only floated the idea of a new carpark with them at this stage, but they were open to the idea, and I think they understand the pressures all parties face when it comes to parking at the airport.

"Overall I think it was a very positive meeting, and we look forward to discussing the matter with them further in the near future."

Signage for the new parking zones will be erected over the coming week.