Staff at the Long Beach Airport and several city officials today celebrated the groundbreaking of a new parking structure that – when completed – will allow easier access for travelers who can easily park and walk to the terminal for boarding.
The five-story structure will be built on existing lots, providing more than 2,000 additional parking spaces. The $48.7 million project is slated to open in Fall 2011.
“It has been a long time coming,” airport director Mario Rodriguez told the lbpost.com following the ceremony.
“This is not an airport that will focus on mass production. We need to focus not on moving people in and out quickly, but on enhancing their experience here.”
A lack of parking was one of the main issues raised by Jet Blue, the airline that occupies most of the Long Beach Airport’s commuter flight stations, earlier in 2009 when the company threatened to leave due to poor facilities and infrastructure. Jet Blue senior vice president Rob Land told a large crowd this morning that the groundbreaking had strengthened the bond between the airport and the airline.
“I only hope we keep this momentum going,” Land said, referring to a possible future enhancement of the airport’s main terminal. Rodriguez says the next project will be replacing temporary trailers with permanent buildings for the airlines that operate at the airport.
