OIA officials make changes to address overcrowded parking garages

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Passengers at Orlando International Airport are being forced to put up with parking pains at the OIA parking garages, some circling for as long as 30 minutes to find a spot.

On Thursday, airport officials confirmed all three of their garages reached capacity something airport officials attribute to heavier than normal summer travel, post school year travel and airfares, but passengers are losing their patience.

“I just kept circling the first level finding somebody to come out to find a parking spot,” said on traveler.

We wanted to see what that parking situation was like for ourselves -- when we entered  Parking Garage A the first two levels both had signs indicated they were full, after circling for a bit there were finally open spots on level three.

“If you come out here around a certain time which is around about 5 or 6 it’s kind of chaotic, so you can definitely have a problem with parking here,” said another traveler. 

Airport officials say they’ve started relocating rental cars from the C Garage to ease the overcrowding, a move passengers are hoping will help.

“I think that will help out a lot because they took most of the parking spaces and so we have to like keep going, further and further down to find places,” said a traveler.

Airport officials say their peak travel times are between 8am and 5pm and urge travelers to allow extra time for parking and remind travelers to use their economy lots.