COLUMBIA — The Columbia Regional Airport is working to transition to a new rental car facility, as well as other improvements relating to customer experience.
A building on the south side of the new terminal will soon house the rental car offices, Transportation Security Administration offices and airport administration offices.
The project will finish an already existing covering to a walkway that leads to the new facility, as well. The current Enterprise rental car facility on the north side will be used for an Moberly Area Community College flight training program.
This project aims to improve the customer experience and make the process much simpler for travelers.
Texas-native Carly Thompson arrived at the airport in her rental car on Friday, and she said she had trouble returning the car.
"I was driving around looking for parking back and forth and couldn't find a spot," Thompson said. "I went to the designated spots. Those were all full."
The project will also bring a designated parking lot for rental cars, meaning the vehicles will no longer take up space in the public parking lot.
The project will also fund the resurfacing of the parking lot west of Airport Drive. Overall, this will open up over 200 parking spaces for the public.
Airport Manager Mike Parks said the funding for this project comes from the terminal funding account. This includes bond funds, transportation sales tax and CARES, the COVID-19 pandemic-related fund.
The project is expected to cost $3.5 million, and Parks said it will improve the customer experience at COU.
"There's multiple public-side improvements that we're making to help with that positive experience for people flying in and out of Columbia," Parks said. "So this rental car facility is just one of those that's going to make that experience positive for everyone using the airport."
Parks anticipates the project will be completed sometime in October.
