400 new parking spots open at Myrtle Beach International Airport

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Myrtle Beach flyers now have even more places to park while moving both in and out of the Grand Strand, just days after the Myrtle Beach International Airport unveiled additional spaces.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said visiting tourist, Fran Hughes. “I’ve been coming here for over 25 years.”

That excitement from both residents and tourists like Hughes comes after MYR added more than 400 new parking spaces to its long-term parking lot.

“We come here three times a year to visit my sister,” said Hughes. “She does have a place in Surfside, we love it so much. It can only be great for the area, absolutely a plus.”

Airport officials aren’t stopping there and plan to add more than 1,200 more spaces on top of the hundreds, they just unveiled.

“We’re already looking at this next phase of parking,” said MYR spokesperson Ryan Betcher. “We think that will carry us through for the future for quite a while.”

Additional completed projects include previous rental car parking lots, and re-opening a cell phone lot, doubling the amount of cell phone zones at MYR. Betcher said the airport has been on an upward swing for several years, and the booming tourism industry doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

“The demand for parking at Myrtle Beach has increased substantially, especially post-pandemic. Really, what we saw was like, as the community’s growing and Myrtle Beach has grown quite a bit, it puts more demand and requirements that we need for parking areas.”

Also in favor of even more parking spaces are some Myrtle Beach residents who said the spots are a necessity for any thriving airport.

“It’s something that people need when they get here,” said Gail Campbell Neal, a Myrtle Beach resident. “They need to be able to get in and out so many people are moving here and traveling back north, or west, or wherever. And again, long-term parking whatever the parking situation is seems to be a good thing.”

Bethcher said the project could begin as early as Spring of 2024, and take anywhere from eight to nine months to complete.

The Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board will discuss the project on Thursday, Nov. 2.

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