Holiday jet-setters experienced some delays finding a parking spot at JFK yesterday.
The long-term parking lot was full, adding at least 20 minutes to travel times and sending some tourists scrambling to make their flights as they were directed to another facility about two miles away.
“I might miss my flight because of it,” said Bill King, who was trying to catch a plane to Cincinnati yesterday. “This is my first time [using] long-term parking.”
King managed to make it onto a shuttle bus at 12:40 p.m. yesterday, but with a 1:25 p.m. flight, his holiday trip to visit his girlfriend was anything but smooth.
Brian Harvey, of Queens, who was on his way to Florida for a cruise, said he won’t relax until he’s at the gate.
“I’ll be happy when I get through security,” he said. “The jury is still out [if we’ll make it].”
His 7-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, tripped running to catch the shuttle and scraped her knee.
“We’re off to a bad start,” the little girl said of her vacation.
The long-term parking lot has 9,850 spaces, and it filled up for the first time this year on Christmas day and briefly reopened that night before overflowing again yesterday morning.
“This time of year, parking is at a premium,” said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for Port Authority. “We urge those who can, to use AirTrain to get to and from the airport.”
PA officials said the number of travelers rose 13 percent through the first 10 months of 2007, compared to the same period last year.
“It’s so crowded,” said an amazed Robert Lopez yesterday. He was on his way to the Caribbean with his two kids.
In response to the increased traffic, a new, $875-million JetBlue terminal, which will include a 1,500-space parking garage, is being built, and should be finished before the height of the summer’s travel rush.
“It was a little hectic,” said traveler Margaret Logreira, who was on her way to Washington, D.C. “I think it’s kind of a bummer [the lot is] closed down. It’s a nice lot.”
Some drivers at the airport could take their chances with the short-term facility, but it costs double the long-term lot’s $15 daily rate.
But those who budgeted a little extra time didn’t complain about the delay.
“Honestly, it wasn’t too big of a deal,” said Jonathan Balog, who gave himself a couple of extra hours for his flight to Spain.
Even with the delay, he and pal Sohag Chaudhuri ended up on the shuttle and en route to the airport with lots of time to spare.
“We had time on our hands,” Chaudhuri said.