LAX Lot Fee May Hit $30 Per Day

The daily parking rate at Los Angeles International Airport would be nearly double what it was just 14 months ago under a plan to be considered today by the city Airport Commission.

Airport administrators said the rate hike--to $30--is necessary to plug a gaping hole in the airport’s budget, caused by a significant drop in air travel after the terrorist attacks. A deficit of $127 million has been projected in the current fiscal year because of increased security costs and lost revenues.

The commission, meeting in Ontario, will also consider raising hourly rates in parking structures in LAX’s central terminal area and daily rates in several outlying parking lots. Parking fees would also increase at Ontario International Airport, the popular Van Nuys FlyAway lot and for parking lots used by LAX employees.

It’s unclear how much revenue the higher fees would generate, officials said, particularly because parking garages at LAX have only been a little more than half full on most days since the attacks. The new rates would go into effect Feb. 15.

Under the rate hike, daily parking fees in structures at LAX would increase 25% from $24 to $30--close to the highest rate at any major airport in the nation. The jump, however, is lower than a $35 daily parking rate proposed by the airport agency in December. Airport commissioners put the hike on hold because they were loath to operate the most expensive airport parking garages in the nation.

If approved, the increase would be the second time in a little more than a year that the airport agency has boosted daily parking rates in the seven structures in the center of LAX. In October 2000, the agency pushed rates from $16 to $24 a day in an attempt to coax airport-bound travelers out of their cars and into mass transit.

The increase is necessary, in part, to pay private security crews who conduct random searches of vehicles entering LAX parking structures, in compliance with a directive from the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We clearly have increased costs since Sept. 11 to operate the parking structures,” said Paul Haney, an airport spokesman. “We’re also looking for ways to raise revenues while still remaining competitive with airports around the U.S. and Southern California regional airports.”

At $30, the daily parking fee at LAX would be on par with rates at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and at Burbank Airport. Other large airports, however, charge less. New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport charge $24 a day. Parking is $23 per day in the central terminal area at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Other airports have raised rates after the attacks, including Boston’s Logan Airport, where parking in the central terminal area climbed from $18 to $22 a day.

Under the proposal, hourly rates at the central terminal area garages at LAX would increase from $2 to $3 for the first hour and $2 for each additional 30 minutes after that, with a $30 cap for a day. If approved, the plan would also raise fees at outlying airport lots--the first increase in 12 years. Daily parking rates at Lot C would climb from $7 to $10 and at Lot B from $5 to $8.

At Ontario International Airport, daily parking rates in the central terminal area would rise from $21 to $32, including a fine to discourage parking for more than two hours. Airport managers said they hope the change will encourage those parking overnight to use outlying economy lots. The close-in spaces are intended for people who are picking up or dropping off passengers, Haney said.

Daily rates in Lots 2 and 4 at Ontario would jump from $10 to $12 and in Lot 3 from $7 to $9.

Hourly rates in Ontario, however, would fall from $5 for the first hour to $1 every 30 minutes. Economy parking in Lots D, F and A would decline from $3 for the first hour to no charge for the first three hours.

To recover the costs of operating the Van Nuys FlyAway lot--used by about 800,000 people a year--commissioners will consider raising rates from $2 to $4 per day. The plan includes a recommended increase from $22 to $30 per month for LAX employee parking in Lot D and from $11 to $15 a month for employee parking in Lot E.

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Airport Parking Rates

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