Parking Spots Disappear At Mineta San Jose International Airport
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- For nearly nine hours Saturday, every spot in every lot at Mineta San Jose International Airport was completely full -- a sign that parking hasn't kept pace with the airport's explosive growth in recent years.
And while the airport's parking lots were shut down over the weekend, departing passengers were left scrambling to find offsite parking or risk missing their flights.
"Every time I come here, I only have about an hour before my flight. So, if I came here and there was no parking spot, I can't even imagine that. It would be very disruptive." said Bo Chen after dropping a friend off at the airport.
According to airport officials, traffic increased to roughly 14.3 million passengers in 2018, a 14.7% increase year-to-year.
The number of parking spots at the airport has remained flat during that time; there's roughly 9,000 spots available on any given day. And passengers say arriving at the airport to find the parking lots at capacity and closed can really upend your travel plans.
"I don't have any idea what they should do. I mean it's a shame they don't have an extra spot where you could go," said Ruth Ann Lewis.
Airport officials say real-time information about parking is available at flysanjose.com. The airport is planning to add an additional 900 parking spots in the next 12 to 18 months.