The Pilbara Echo reported last week that Karratha Airport will soon be introducing paid parking. Recent upgrades to the car park will result in the airport offering over 1000 parking bays, with specific allocations for long term, short term, rental car bays, staff parking and an upgraded pick and drop off zone.
Paid parking, which will be introduced upon completion of the upgrades which are due in December, follows customer feedback highlighting the difficulty of finding parking spaces in the past due to the large number of FIFO (Fly-in, fly-out) workers parking cars for extended periods of time.
Cars will be allowed to park up to one hour free of charge, enabling people to pick up and drop off friends and relations at no cost. Different pricing regimes will apply for short and long term parking. Short term charges will range from $3 for 1-2 hours, to $25 for the day and long term parking will cost $10 a day, decreasing to $6 a day after the first 14 days.
The introduction of car parking fees is designed to fund and ensure the ongoing high level of maintenance of the airport, including improved facilities and services for passengers and visitors.
PCI is pleased to have been involved in the planning and recommendations for the introduction of paid parking at Karratha, and is looking forward to seeing the increased capacity and management systems excel as demand for parking at the airport continues to grow.