DES MOINES, Iowa -- Des Moines International Airport continued its growth spurt in 2018 and it will continue into the new year and beyond.
WHO Channel 13 reports a record number of passengers came through the airport last year, and the Airport Authority expects that number to increase even more this year.
The Airport Authority estimates 2.7 million passengers came through the airport last year and they project nearly 3 million to come through in 2019.
“When we hit that 3 million passenger mark is when we’re really feeling the stress of an undersized facility,” Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Foley said.
Ticket prices are not expected to rise as the economy is strong and fuel prices are low.
Something new at the airport in 2019 is a system with red and green lights in the parking garage to tell passengers where available parking spaces are. Digital signs will tell you the number of spots available.
“That’s an effort to more fully utilize our long-term parking, many people want to park in the garage. When the garage gets 90% full basically it’s full because you don’t have time to search for those additional spaces. This eliminates that searching,” Foley said.