Parking rates will be increasing for the first time in 16 years at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in anticipation of several long-term changes over the next few years.

The Birmingham Airport Authority (BAA) Board has approved the first phase of a multi-year plan which include several changes to parking, including rate changes that take effect July 1.

BAA CEO Ron Mathieu said the changes are necessary as the airport’s passenger traffic continues to grow.

“Parking is a critical part of the customer experience at BHM, and our goal is to modernize the operation so that we are ready to meet and exceed the expectations of travelers,” he said.

The changes, which came after more than a year of planning, will also include a reconfiguration of the parking deck and a restructuring of parking rates to pay for future improvements that could cost up to $50 million.

Among the rate changes:

• Hourly parking in the deck will go from $24 a day to $26 a day.
• Daily parking in the deck will go from $12 a day to $17 a day.
• Incremental parking will increase from $1 an hour to $2 an hour in all lots.
• Economy parking rates will stay the same at $10 a day.

In addition, there will be a reconfiguration of Level 1 at the parking deck to relieve capacity constraints for rental car businesses that operate at BHM.

ADA-Van Accessible parking will remain on the first level of the deck. All other oversize vehicles will move to the Economy Lot.

There will also be a discontinuation of the airport’s commuter parking program that gives deep discounts to a select group of airline employees who live in Birmingham but who are based in other cities and work out of other airports. The program will end on Dec. 31.

According to airport authorities, parking and rental car operations make up 45% of BHM’s operating revenue.

According to the airport, future changes will include the development of a new, remote parking complex, and new technology – known as a parking guidance system- to provide real-time information on parking availability. According to the BAA, this will limit the need for drivers to search for empty spaces.

In addition, the airport plans to add new technology in the parking exit lanes to speed up transactions and increase the pace of traffic, as well as better signage and a revamping of valet parking.

“Parking is a critical part of the airport business and is also expensive in terms of maintenance, growing capacity, and providing all the different levels of service the public demands,” Mathieu said. “The Board is doing exactly what is needed to set in motion a new era of parking that will better serve customers.”

Last year, more than 3.2 million people traveled through the BHM terminal, a 6% increase over the previous year.

The airport is served by five airlines that together operate approximately 100 flights a day.