SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Rates at Sacramento International Airport (SMF) are expected to increase over the next five years for hourly, garage, daily and economy parking.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors greenlit the increases Tuesday afternoon. In a staff report, officials said the parking rates have not kept up with inflation and SMF is switching into "growth mode" after the pandemic.
Cindy Nichol, director of airports for the county, said 2019 was SMF's busiest year on record with 13 million passengers, and coming out of COVID, the airport is expecting to meet or exceed those numbers this year.
She said SMF is worried about running out of parking heading into the 2022 holiday season this year, and as a result, the airport has developed some temporary and contingency parking plans.
This is along with plans for SMForward, an effort making around $370 million in parking amenity improvements to the airport through 2025.
County Supervisor Phil Serna said the increase makes sense to help provide a traveling experience at SMF the county can be proud of. Officials noted rates for SMF parking were below the averages for nearby parking structures and other competing airports.
“I don't always cherish the idea of raising rates or taxes, but I think, in this instance, this makes a lot of sense to make sure we do have resources necessary to make the travelling experience one we can be proud of...," said Serna.
Rates for the increase can be seen in the chart below:
