Parking prices are set to rise 400% to 500% at Penticton airport

Parking at Penticton Regional Airport is about to get significantly more expensive, with rates set to increase between 400 and 500 per cent starting November 1.

The changes are substantial across the board, with every parking category seeing a steep increase, as the comparison below shows.

“Everyone wants to get on the bandwagon to get more money,” says Donna, a Penticton resident frustrated by the rising costs.

Transport Canada, which owns and operates the airport, says the increases are necessary because existing fees no longer reflect market rates.

In a federal regulatory notice published in the Canada Gazette, the department says the rules governing parking fees were last updated in 2012. It says operating costs at its five federally owned airports are growing and the airports are running at a deficit.

Penticton is one of five airports affected by the federal initiative. The others are Port Hardy and Sandspit in B.C., Sept-Îles in Quebec, and Wabush in Labrador. While Penticton’s new rates have been announced, it is not yet clear how much parking fees will change at the other four airports.

Some travellers acknowledge that Penticton’s parking rates may have been low, particularly compared with larger airports. One traveller says some locals have even used the airport lot for long-term parking without flying, taking advantage of rates that were cheaper than some paid parking lots around town.

But while there may be room for an increase, an employee who works at the airport says the size of the jump goes too far.

“I think they have made a big mistake,” the airport employee says. “I don’t mind them putting it up a little because it was pretty cheap, but they put it up to its equal to Kelowna.”

Most of the parking at the Penticton airport is unpaved and does not have the same infrastructure, such as lighting, that larger airports have.

For many Penticton residents, the parking increases come as everyday expenses continue to climb, from filling up at the gas pump to putting groceries on the table.

Donna says her household has already had to make changes to keep up with the rising cost of living, cutting back on things they used to enjoy.

“We don’t go out for meals as much as we used to,” she says.

And with airport parking rates set to jump by hundreds of per cent, residents like Donna say it’s another expense they’ll have to think twice about, especially when travelling is already costing more.

Travellers will have to decide whether leaving their cars at the airport is still worth the cost.