PEI

Charlottetown Airport makes first hour of parking free

It's now free to park for the first hour at the Charlottetown Airport's short-term parking lot.

Free hour aims to keep front of terminal less congested

Airport CEO Doug Newson hopes offering a free hour of parking will leave the front of the terminal open for taxis and other modes of transportation. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC)

It's now free to park for the first hour at the Charlottetown Airport's short-term parking lot.

"People will just pull up out front or they'll park in front of the terminal when we want to leave that open for taxis and other modes of transportation," said Doug Newson, CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority.

"It also gets congested in the terminal as well, so if we have a large flight arriving, especially in the summer where there might be a lot of leisure customers with family and friends picking them up, the lineup to validate your ticket for $0.50 or $1 can be quite long as well."

Increases to rates

While a quick trip to the airport is now less expensive, other parking rates have gotten more expensive — part of a broader review of both short term and long term parking at the terminal.

The short term rates have doubled from $0.50 to $1 for every 30 minutes, and the daily maximum rate is up from $15 to $20.

Long term rates have gone from $12 for a day to $15, with the weekly maximum going from $60 to $65.

With files from Tom Steepe