Atlanta airport parking to temporarily decrease in the next few weeks
ATLANTA - In a little more than three weeks, the South Economy Parking Lot will shut down to make way for a new parking deck, eliminating more than 3,000 spots temporarily.
The airport says it will be a challenge to find space for a car as they work on their master plan to overhaul parking.
"The parking situation is rough, chaotic and unpredictable," said frequent traveler Jose Sanchez.
The parking lot closure comes as the airport reopens the closed portions of the North parking deck.
For some, like Branty Bailey, the travel trouble happens even before takeoff. Thursday she could not find a spot and was forced to park in a different lot.
"I have to pay an hourly rate, and I’ll be away for ten days," she said. "I am frustrated."
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has dealt with parking issues for some time as they worked to overhaul aging parking decks.
Thursday, airport leaders announced the South Economy Lot will close on October 23rd to make way for a parking deck.
It is one of three they will build at the domestic terminal in the next 10 to 15 years.
"We’re really excited about the program, but I’m just going to get to the point, it’s not going to be very nice," said Jai Ferrel, an airport deputy general manager.
The first parking deck will open in late 2026 at a cost of $514 million. The airport says it will have nearly 7,000 spaces and feature smart technology.
"Once completed, this structure would tremendously benefit our passengers in terms of space availability, technology and convenience," said Jan Lennon, another airport deputy general manager.
Once the first deck is completed, they will demolish and replace the current South Deck before doing the same to the North Deck.
Once the upgrades are completed, they believe they will have enough parking for at least 30 to 50 years.
For passengers, this cannot come soon enough.
"The stuff inside is getting a little bit faster, so they’re actually improving inside and now to be frustrated with the outside and having this become the bottleneck, it hurts," Sanchez said.
The airport says there are options like ATL West or ATL Select. They recommend you have a plan and follow signs to available parking. If your car is parked in the lot beyond October 23, the airport says it will relocate it to another airport lot. Impacted passengers would need to reach out to the parking office to be told where their car is located.