Airport workers say parking spaces too small; use 'drastic' measures to get out

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Airport employees say some of the spaces in the new employee parking lot are so narrow, people are taking to drastic measures to get in and out of their cars.

Photos sent to Channel 9 show vehicles parked inches away from each other.

Airport officials consolidated parking from four lots to two. Starting April 3, the airport converted the Long Term 4 parking lot to Employee Parking 2. Airport officials say the move was made to improve efficiency of bus routes.

Craig Vanderhoof, an airport employee and president of a local union, says a majority of the new spaces are too narrow.

“There’s people crawling through trunks of their cars, climbing through the sunroofs of their cars to exit,” Vanderhoof said. “They have to go through their passenger side of their cars to get in the driver’s side.”

Vanderhoof says some employees have started to pay to park to avoid damage to their cars.

A spokesperson for the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport says officials have received 18 complaints.

“The lot was properly permitted when constructed in 2014,” a spokesperson said. “While we understand these employees believe the spaces are too small, they’ve been in use for several years by the public with no complaints.”

A spokesperson for the airport says the lot was designed for standard parking configuration with spaces 8-9 feet in length. Vanderhoof says spaces have been measured to be less than that.

Vanderhoof says employees will continue to voice their concerns. His ultimate goal is for another lot to be opened to reduce crowding in the two lots so not as many people have to park in the smaller spaces.

Cox Media Group