When you sit down to eat your grandmother’s famous stuffing and homemade rolls next week, you might be thankful for a parking spot at the San Antonio airport — if you plan ahead.
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has 10,000 vehicle parking spaces for air travelers spread across ground lots and garages. Another 750 on-site seats are reserved for airport employees.
But the rush of passengers expected for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday week calls for a turkey-proof strategy, airport officials say.
Travel reservation service AAA estimates that the upcoming five-day holiday period will be the busiest Thanksgiving for air travel since 2005.
San Antonio has at least 30,000 more airline seats this year between Nov. 17 and 26 than in 2022, said Ryan Rocha, San Antonio airport operations manager, thanks in part to increased air service and routes and aircraft size.
The busiest days will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, he said.
Typically, about 20% of departing travelers park a car at the airport.
If that’s your plan, you can check online to see what ground lots and garages are available in advance by going to flysanAntonio.com/parking.
Options include a long-term parking garage, where the Park Assist camera system counts spaces and indicates open spaces with a green light, and also provides security while your car is there, Rocha said.
The cost is $16 per day and discounts are available for veterans and the disabled.
On-site surface parking lots provide spaces for $10 per day and free transportation to the terminal. The shuttle runs every 5-8 minutes during peak times of the day.
If you’re visiting the airport to pick up your elderly Aunt Jane or host a welcome home party for your soldier, short-term garage parking is available for between $3 (for up to 30 minutes) or $29 per day. The first 15 minutes are free.
The pick up and go option costs nothing. For those who want to collect family and friends arriving in the lower level traffic lanes, a “cell phone lot” allows you to wait near the airport until you get a call that they are ready to be picked up.
In 2020, the airport also introduced Fly Away Valet, a service that allows you to pre-book a space for hourly or overnight use, then enter directly into the first level of the garage and hand over your keys to a valet.
The service started with 50 seats. Because of its popularity after the pandemic eased, it now provides 600 seats, Rocha said. “All of level zero in the short-term garage is for a valet – that’s how high our demand is for him.”
Seating is usually available, and Rocha said he’s never seen it fill up.
The service is $33 per day and comes with a few other perks like luggage assistance and windshield cleaning. You can also schedule your car to be ready and waiting when you return.
Other options for getting to the airport but eliminating parking hassles include asking your best friend to drive you, of course, but also using a rideshare like Uber or Lyft, or a taxi or car service.
The Wall Street Journal recently ranked the San Antonio airport second for ease of using carpools and taxis and also named SAT second best overall among all medium-sized airports.
VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Park & Ride airport bus service is another option.
In June, VIA introduced airport bus service from Stone Oak Park & Ride, located at US Highway 281 and Stone Oak Parkway in the far north.
The 15-20 minute ride is available weekdays every 30 minutes between 5:45am and 7:00pm. The fare is $2.60 one way.
