Reserved parking at Sea-Tac goes live, but it’s pricey and you’ll need to plan ahead

SEATAC, Wash. — If you’ve ever fought for a parking space at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, be prepared to take that fight online as well.

You can now reserve parking online in what’s a big shift for the airport as it tries to manage its extremely limited space for cars.

The new reservation system went live at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Reserved parking is on the fourth floor of the terminal parking garage and costs $47 a day.

For Kiley Bates, traveling with a lot of gear appears to be the norm. She was lugging several bags along with two children and a stroller into Sea-Tac. An easy parking solution like reserving a space sounded like a good idea to her.

“If we needed it, we definitely would take a space…that way you know your spot when you get here and you know your spot when you come home,” said Bates.

For others, it’s not necessarily something they’d sign up for.

“Probably not. Seems like too much of a hassle,” said Mark Quantz.

But the hassle may be finding a general parking spot now that fourth floor is for reserved parking only.

Sea-Tac spokesperson Perry Cooper said that some travelers have been asking for reserved parking, a trend that’s prevalent at other airports.

“The region in and around the airport has not added any new parking spaces here over the last several years, so it can be a tight situation, (and) it’s one of those things where we encourage you to plan that ahead as part of your ticket process,” said Cooper.

With the hundreds of spaces on the fourth floor now designated for reserved parking, those who reserve a spot online will be guaranteed a spot, but the airport recommends that travelers make their parking reservations at least 14 days in advance.

The other floors of the parking garage are first come, first served, and for some, that may be the option they take, according to Cooper.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any more space. That’s our challenge,” he said. “We have a limited footprint because we’re surrounded by three cities; we don’t have enough space to add another parking lot; a lot of other airports may have a cheaper lot that’s a little further away – we don’t have that option here.”

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