Myrtle Beach International Airport expecting full parking lot capacity, third time in weeks

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - For three weeks in the last month, Myrtle Beach International Airport is advising travelers to arrive early because parking lots are at full capacity.

The full parking lots can be attributed to people heading out of town, causing an increased travel demand.

Myrtle Beach International Airport spokesperson, Ryan Betcher said it’s something they didn’t expect to see.

He said the increased travel is surprisingly not because of visitors, but rather Myrtle Beach locals.

“Going into more September, kind of the shoulder season, we’re seeing a larger uptick of our local passengers, local traffic that’s flying out. So, that’s really resulting in a lot more demand for parking facilities,” said Betcher. “It’s not something we’ve seen in September before where we have this much of an increase. So, we have had to go into some contingency type of parking situations that are a little bit further away from the terminal.”

Betcher said a solution is on the way as MYR is in the process of expanding its parking lots to keep up with the demand.

“It’s a project that’s going to be completed before the start of the next busy year, so prior to Memorial Day weekend. So, we’re in the process of working on that and trying to get ahead of the parking capacity issues we’re already having,” said Betcher.

He said this project would include over 400 new long-term parking spots, and 40 new spots in the airport’s Cell Lot.

To prepare for this weekend MYR employees are encouraging travelers to arrive earlier than usual to ensure enough time to find a parking spot and make their flights.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.