Short-Term Parking

$13/day buys you the absolute closest parking at CHO

Short-Term Parking at Charlottesville Albemarle Airport sits directly in front of Terminal T, about a 2-minute walk from your car to the check-in counters. You just cross the access road and you’re inside, which is why one reviewer said they could park and reach their gate in under 10 minutes total. No shuttles, no hunting through remote rows.

The posted rate is $13.00 per day, and CHO gives you the first 30 minutes free in this lot. Locals use that free half hour to sit in Short-Term instead of looping the terminal road for pickups, especially during peak evening arrivals. For a quick meet-and-go, you get curb-level access without actually clogging the curb.

All handicapped/ADA spaces are concentrated in this Short-Term lot, so anyone needing accessible parking effectively treats it as the default, even on 5–7 day trips. Regulars say the flat, lit, 2-minute walk beats saving a few dollars per day in the more distant sections of the long-term and economy areas.

Payment setup is a bit quirky: Short-Term and Economy are credit-card–only at the exit gates. If you want to pay cash, you have to use the pay-on-foot machine in baggage claim before returning to your car. A few infrequent travelers mention getting stuck at the gate because they didn’t hit that machine first.

Complaints focus on price: more than one reviewer mentions sticker shock at paying $13/day at a small airport like CHO. That said, people landing at 11 p.m. often say it’s worth paying extra to park close instead of walking across the larger long-term lot in the dark.

Tip: If you’re just doing a pickup, watch the clock: pull into Short-Term, meet your passenger, and aim to exit within 30 minutes to keep the bill at $0.