Columbia Regional Airport opens new 700-space parking lot along with shuttle

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Regional Airport on Monday launched its new shuttle service for the new 700-space south parking lot as the airport continues to see growth.

The lot opened at 4 a.m. Monday with a shuttle taking the first group of passengers to the main terminal. The shuttle is set run in 10-minute intervals. A ride from the lot to the main terminal took roughly three minutes when ABC 17 News used the service.  

Airport Manager Mike Parks said officials are still trying to get an accurate time estimate.

"We are really trying to get an average on how long does it take to pick the passenger up, move the luggage, and then we will make adjustments to that in the future," Parks said.

Officials said prior to the opening of the lot ,the airport faced the challenge of having more passengers than parking spaces. The airport had a record-number of passengers in March. COU added routes to Charlotte, North Carolina, last month and flights are expected to start heading to Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday and Destin, Florida on Friday.

Allegiant Airlines employee Alexis Barnes took the shuttle for the first time Monday. She said that she just started at the airport and was late on her first day after having to circle the parking lots to find parking.

"It is nice that it is convenient. I don't have to search for parking and I can make it up to the airport on time." Barnes said.

Parks said the airport is currently evaluating the need for the number of shuttles running at one time. He also claims the start of the shuttle service makes the airport a lot safer.

"People are not getting out of their vehicles and walking down airport drive," Parks said

"Right now we are operating one shuttle. In the future to maybe if there is peak demand to where we would need a second, we would utilize our current staff to jump in," he said.

The airport has two employees – one full-time, one part-time – operating the shuttle, as well as employees from the Columbia Public Works department who are also licensed to operate the shuttle in order to ensure they are able to operate the route throughout the day.