There’s a price hike to park at Wichita Falls Regional Airport that some community members say they weren’t aware of.

Last July, Wichita Falls City Councilors signed off on new parking machines for the airport that cost about $170,000. The facility received three new pay stations; two are located at the exit gates and one is inside the terminal. Before the parking fares increased, the cost to park was a three dollar flat rate. An airport supervisor says all the extra money goes back into airport maintenance. Airport officials say some people took advantage of the three dollar flat rate, using the lot as storage for their cars, sometimes for months at a time.

Each of the new pay stations take credit and debit cards but only the pay station in the terminal takes cash. Some travelers say they had trouble swiping their cards in the new machines but airport officials say that glitch in the system is fixed.

The meters in front of the airport are for short term parking. Airport officials say they will not be raising the parking fare again.

– Newschannel 6