With nearly 800 parking spaces available between its two lots, and capacity regularly sitting under 50% outside of the holidays, Flagstaff Pulliam Airport may soon begin offering monthly parking rates.
The possibility was discussed during the City of Flagstaff鈥檚 Airport Commission meeting in early January, in addition to the potential for a lost ticket fee and an increase to all rates for July 2026. While the airport鈥檚 paid parking system began in July 2023, the rates were adopted by the Flagstaff City Council in December 2021, and the associated costs for the system have risen significantly in the years since, according to the airport's director, Brian Gall.
Additionally, parking rates at other airports have increased in recent years since Flagstaff set its rates based on a study conducted in 2021.
Currently, the airport鈥檚 daily rate for its terminal lot and those 380 spaces is $8, with a weekly rate of $48. Slightly further from the terminal in the economy lot, constructed in 2022 with 413 spaces, rates are $6 per day and $36 per week.
Gall told the commission that 鈥渟omewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters鈥� of the cars utilizing the paid parking system are currently in the terminal lot -- which seemed to serve as an example that the higher-priced lot is not a deterrent for travelers at the current rate and its closer proximity to the terminal itself. The proposed increase to the rates could potentially balance the usage of the two lots, Gall added.
Raising the lots $2 and $1 respectively, the terminal lot would increase to a daily rate of $10 and the economy lot up to $7. The weekly rate, offering one free day per week, would remain the same formula and all the increased rates would be effective on July 1, 2026.
鈥淭hese fees went into effect in 2023 and were set quite a bit earlier than that, so we鈥檙e thinking it鈥檚 time to look at a potential future increase,鈥� Gall said to the commission during the Jan. 9 presentation, adding that wage increases for the workers in charge of the system and the cost of the third-party monitoring system have gone up in the time since the rates were set.
Though some airports of similar size were noted as having slightly higher rates, such as Yuma鈥檚 $10 daily charge, Durango, Colorado鈥檚, $9 daily charge and Montrose, Colorado鈥檚, $11 daily charge, members of the commission were concerned about moving forward with sending proposed rate increases to the Flagstaff City Council before more data was gathered.
Commissioner Andrew Shouse suggested looking for information regarding the parking rates charged by airports with similar enplanements, defined as revenue passengers boarding flights, as opposed to just similar current pricing within the region. Additionally, commissioner Kolby White suggested gathering an estimate of potential revenue with a $3 increase to the terminal lot while the economy lot鈥檚 rates remained the same based on the observed usage of the lots.
鈥淢y worry is about raising rates without seeing the justification behind the raise of those rates,鈥� Shouse said, adding that he understands costs are constantly increasing in the economy, but that the public might not quite understand the increased costs associated with a predominantly automated parking system.
While the commission ultimately voted 4-1 in favor of holding off on sending proposed increases to city council, the addition of a monthly rate and a lost ticket fee were approved to move forward and join the existing rates.
Explaining that members of the community had asked for a monthly rate, Gall said the airport鈥檚 proposal of $160 for the terminal lot and $120 for the economy lot came by offering two days free per week across four weeks at the existing daily rate. With the airport looking to utilize its existing parking availability, Gall said even at Thanksgiving and Christmas there were around 300 spaces open.
鈥淲e do have quite a surplus right now given our current flight availability,鈥� Gall said. 鈥淥ne of the reasons we proposed a monthly rate -- and not a quarterly rate or yearly rate -- is because we want to have that flexibility to say, 'Well we鈥檙e going to release, say, 100 parking permits out of our 300 spaces available.' If we start to fill up with a new flight addition or additional routes or a new airline, we can pull those back on a month-to-month basis.鈥�
Similarly, the addition of lost ticket fees aims to retain some lost revenue.
Though the parking system reads the license plates when cars enter the lots, Gall said there are instances where the camera either misreads the plate or the plate is obscured. When a traveler returns to their car and has lost their ticket, there have been times where people have been let out without paying due to the system being unable to match when they initially entered the lot.
Basing the rate off the average parking duration at the airport, Gall said the lost ticket rates of $72 for the terminal lot and $54 for the economy lot reflect a week and a half of parking. The proposed lost ticket fee would be significantly cheaper than the comparable airports currently instituting them, with St. George, Utah, charging $150, Mesa Gateway at $250 and Yuma being the highest at $350.
鈥淣ot all airports charge lost ticket fees,鈥� Gall said. 鈥淪ome have full-time staff that really work hard to figure out what to charge people when they leave. Ours is a little bit more hands-off. We do most of ours through automation and third-party consultants.鈥�
Should the proposal move to the city council, the monthly rate and lost ticket fees would be effective immediately upon adoption.