Parking rates at Durango La-Plata County Airport are increasing.
The first rate increase will be felt around the Thanksgiving holiday – traditionally the busiest travel period of the year – when the airport will temporarily raise rates from $9 to $14 per day.
The next rate increase will occur Jan. 1, when the daily $9 parking rate will increase permanently to $10.
Finally, aircrew members are being hit with a parking rate increase, with monthly parking permits increasing from $50 to $55 per month early next year.
Aviation Director Tony Vicari said most of the increases are being done to help fund airport operations and projects – including recent and future parking expansions.
“Funding for these projects needs to be secured, and adjusting parking rates is part of our overall funding strategy,” he said.
In 2024, the airport paved a gravel overflow parking lot totaling 275 spaces – with an additional 150 being added this year – bringing the total available number of parking spaces at DRO up to 1,304.
The parking lot expansion has cost DRO $3 million in 2024 and 2025, Vicari said, with an additional $4.8 million budgeted for 2026 through 2029.
DRO operates through enterprise funding, meaning the airport does not receive city or county funds, and instead generates revenue through fees and lease agreements assessed to users and tenants. Because of that, raising fees is necessary to help fund the recent work, Vicari said.
Thanksgiving travel plans
Durango-La Plata County Airport will be operating a remote shuttle parking lot over the Thanksgiving holiday. Aviation Director Tony Vicari recommends travelers plan ahead by getting dropped off, carpooling or using local transportation to avoid traffic congestion and raised costs.
The temporary $5 price bump around the holidays – which goes into effect between Nov. 25 and Dec. 5 – has more to do with space constraints, Vicari said.
Parking demand at the airport over Thanksgiving increases by 30%, he said, and the current number of parking spaces at DRO cannot accommodate that level of demand.
“We are quite aware that the added cost of surge pricing for parking during the holidays doesn’t feel very festive, but we are facing the very real possibility of completely running out of parking options for the public if we do not find a way to encourage alternative transportation options,” he wrote in an email to The Durango Herald.
He wrote the exact same thing in a column that was published last week in this newspaper.
The permanent fee increase beginning Jan. 1 is needed for the ongoing operations at the airport, Vicari said.
“Expanded infrastructure requires funding. It is not realistic to maintain flat fees in an environment where significant capital investments are being made and operating costs continue to grow,” he said. “Nationwide CPI has increased by over 40% (between 2013 and 2025), significantly eroding the purchasing power of the revenue DRO is able to generate out of its parking lots. The increase in parking rates proposed for 2026 will support significant ongoing capital investment in parking expansion and offset growing operational expenses.”
Daily parking rates at DRO have increased by a total of $2 since 2013.
According to La Plata County resident and aircrew member Dan Fischer, parking increases are also impacting aircrew.
Earlier this month, he received a notice from Vicari and Fly Durango saying the monthly cost of aircrew parking permits would be increasing, costing aircrew members $660 per year to park on-site. Unlike daily employees at the airport, aircrew do not have a designated lot to park in, and use regular public parking zones at the airport.
Fischer said the cost for a yearlong parking permit at DRO was $15 in 2013, then rose to $360 by 2015 – a 2,400% increase – and to $600 as of earlier this year.
The notice also warned aircrew members that the flight crew parking permit program may not continue at all beyond 2026, meaning aircrew may have to begin paying $10 for daily public parking at the airport in 2027.
“Aircrew are extremely vetted, upstanding people who contribute to the community,” Fischer told the Herald in an email. “They are supporting passengers flying into or out of Durango, regardless of what airline they work for or where their trips start and end. Pretty soon, only major airline captains will be able to afford the $2,000/year to park at work.”
Vicari said 84 aircrew members are enrolled in the aircrew parking program.
He said that even after the upcoming cost increase, the permit provides savings for aircrew when compared to daily public parking rates – and that those discounted rates have been financially troublesome for the airport.
“Currently, we are offering significantly discounted parking to these commuting flight crew members,” Vicari said. “The resulting vehicles in our parking lots displace full fare public parking since the airport does not have the space for a separate designated and controlled commuter lot. We are already running out of available parking during peak holiday periods, and offering discounted parking is only exaggerating this challenge.”
The future of the aircrew parking permit program beyond 2026 is still being discussed, Vicari said, and the topic will be reviewed at further length with the Airport Advisory Commission before any final decision being made.
He said that comparable airports on Colorado’s Western Slope, like Montrose and Grand Junction, have noticeably higher parking rates than DRO, and that the airport has to keep its financial needs in mind when determining parking costs.
“While no one likes increased costs, it is important to understand that the airport must make financial decisions like any other business,” Vicari said. “This includes adjusting rates to ensure that we are able to maintain and expand the critical infrastructure that keeps DRO functioning. ... Even with the planned rate increase in 2026, parking at DRO remains highly competitive with other peer airports.”
epond@durangoherald.com
