New Report Highlights Importance of Parking to Airport Operations

Among the findings:

• Airport parking facilities contribute between $2 and $118 million in gross revenues annually to an airport, with a typical large hub airport generating $55 million per year.
• Of total 2010 non-aeronautical revenues of about $7 billion, $2.9 billion or 41.6 percent was comprised of parking and ground transportation revenues, according to FAA data presented in the report.
• Most airports provide more than 4,000 public parking spaces and many provide more than 10,000 parking spaces for their customers. The median inventory of spaces for large, medium, and small hubs is 17,000, 7,400 and 4,600 respectively.
• Airports provide 2.0 to 4.9 spaces per 1,000 originating passengers.
• More than 30 percent of large-hub airports offer reserved parking, but less than 10 percent of medium- and small-hub airports do.
• More than 40 percent of large-hub airports offer valet parking, but less than 10 percent of small-hub airports do.
• Parking structures at large- and medium-hub airports are most commonly used for short-term and higher priced long-term parking.
• On average, airports reported 353 parking transactions per 1,000 originating passengers.
• Average parking revenues per transaction were $49.35 for valet, $12.57 for short-term parking, $29.62 for long-term, and $31.73 for economy.
• More than 50 percent of large- and medium-hub airports use parking management contractors, while many of the small-hub airports' parking facilities are self-operated.
• Large-hub airports have higher parking operating costs per passenger and per transaction than smaller hub airports.
• More than 50 percent of parking revenue is collected by cashiers and more than 60 percent of customers use credit cards.
• Most large- and medium-hub airports have cell phone lots.
• Almost all airports provide security measures in both public and employee parking areas, including random patrols, vehicular patrols, cameras, and closed circuit TV (CCTV).

"This study demonstrates that parking is a significant component of the operations of airports of all sizes," explains Shawn Conrad, CAE, executive director of IPI, and a member of the study advisory committee. Conrad added that to enhance customer service, streamline the process of finding and paying for parking, and improve sustainability, a growing number of airports are investing in the advanced technologies that have transformed the parking industry over the past few years.

The full report can be downloaded here.