A spokeswoman from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport announced during a recent Rotary Club meeting they have completed about half of an expansion project that will begin to ease the tensions of travelers late this summer.
“We are currently adding 54,000 sq. ft., which will provide for new restaurants and shops, additional parking and five new gates,” Lori Lynah, the airport’s director of marketing and public relations, said. “This $34 million expansion project was funded fully by the airport and we project our capacity to increase by 33 percent upon the projected completion date of Aug. 1 of this year.”
Lynah said the airport can currently park two jets at each gate, but the additional gates are necessary because larger jets will soon be cycled into the rotation to account for the growing demand at the airport. And in this case, the gates can only hold one of these bigger airplanes at a time.
In part, this project will include a new parking garage to house 1,750 premium parking spots, she said, noting the new spots will be covered, they will be near the front and the parking garage will feature a $730,000 signal parking system.
“While driving down each row, electronically updated signs will inform you of exactly how many spaces are down each row,” Lynah said. “This will cut down on circuitous and tedious driving, and the only other airports that have this parking option are in Jacksonville, Fla. and Baltimore, Md.”
In terms of finding a place to stay near the airport, Lynah said there are currently 528 hotel rooms on the airport property and they will eventually increase that number to 1,219 rooms in the near future.
“We are currently adding 54,000 sq. ft., which will provide for new restaurants and shops, additional parking and five new gates,” Lori Lynah, the airport’s director of marketing and public relations, said. “This $34 million expansion project was funded fully by the airport and we project our capacity to increase by 33 percent upon the projected completion date of Aug. 1 of this year.”
Lynah said the airport can currently park two jets at each gate, but the additional gates are necessary because larger jets will soon be cycled into the rotation to account for the growing demand at the airport. And in this case, the gates can only hold one of these bigger airplanes at a time.
In part, this project will include a new parking garage to house 1,750 premium parking spots, she said, noting the new spots will be covered, they will be near the front and the parking garage will feature a $730,000 signal parking system.
“While driving down each row, electronically updated signs will inform you of exactly how many spaces are down each row,” Lynah said. “This will cut down on circuitous and tedious driving, and the only other airports that have this parking option are in Jacksonville, Fla. and Baltimore, Md.”
In terms of finding a place to stay near the airport, Lynah said there are currently 528 hotel rooms on the airport property and they will eventually increase that number to 1,219 rooms in the near future.