Cleveland Airport Eyes Expansion After Online System Launch

(TNS) — More than 2,000 Northeast Ohio travelers have taken advantage of the newest amenity at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport — a reservation system that guarantees a parking spot within a short walk of the terminal.

The airport last month launched the system, which allows travelers to reserve a space in the Smart Parking Garage in advance of their trip.

The system is expected to be expanded to the airport’s Brown Lot, which requires a shuttle ride to the terminal, in the coming months, according to airport spokesperson Michele Dynia.

In recent years, parking at the airport has become increasingly scarce, as passenger numbers increase.

During busy travel times — including spring break, summer vacation and year-end holidays — the city-owned parking lots at Hopkins are frequently full.

Dynia said this week that the new system has logged more than 2,000 reservations. “Currently, we have bookings through February 22, 2025,” she said. “This changes every day.”

She also noted that the airport has had to issue some refunds due to flight cancellations.

The system works like this:

• Go to clevelandairport.com, click on “Parking & Transportation” and then “Reserve a parking spot.” Input your travel dates, and the site will let you know if there are spots available.
• Click “book now” and add your name, license-plate number and credit-card information. The parking garage costs $23 a day and reservations must be prepaid. The city is charging a $1.99 convenience fee per reservation.
  

Note: The reservation does not provide a specific spot in the garage, which has 3,810 spaces. Travelers will still have to drive through the garage, searching for a space.

Even when the garage is listed as full, those with reservations will be allowed to enter and spots will be available for them.

Despite its initial popularity, not everyone is thrilled about the new system.

The parking garage is the only place to park on airport grounds that offers short-term, hourly parking rates. So when the garage is full, it can be difficult to run into the airport quickly – to pick up a passenger, buy a ticket or grab a delayed suitcase, for example.

Cleveland traveler Jennifer Miller said she sometimes parks in the garage when dropping off or picking up passengers.

She writes, “I use the Smart Parking garage to park there usually for less than an hour, to meet my elderly mom at baggage claim to handle her luggage for her, and last summer when dropping off and picking up my daughter flying to and from Israel. If those Smart Parking spots are all reserved, where do those of us go that need short- term parking?”

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