CLEVELAND, Ohio - For a recent flight, Glenn Reichart parked his car at the Airport Fast Park lot on Snow Road like usual.

On the five-minute shuttle ride to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the Hudson native befriended a 90-year-old World War II veteran. The man, whose name he never got, was confused about how to get to the ticketing area from the shuttle's drop-off location.

After unsuccessfully trying to give directions, Reichart led the man to the United Airlines counter.

"It can be very confusing compared to the curbside before," said Reichart, who  personally isn't that bothered by the move.

Off-site and long-term parking shuttles used to drop off passengers just outside of ticketing in the main airport terminal. But since May 2015, the pick-up and drop off location for most shuttles has moved to the limo lot, which is past the main roadway and requires taking two escalators to access.

Passengers say the new location is confusing and burdensome.

Nearly two years ago, the airport underwent a $36 million terminal facade and parking canopy project and relocated shuttle buses from the main roadway because of traffic flow during construction. The renovation wrapped up last summer but shuttles still haven't returned to the main roadway.

"I'm just surprised it's taken them 21 months," said Libby Thuning of Amherst, who was waiting for a shuttle last week after her flight from Ft. Lauderdale.

Timeline for change

When The Plain Dealer last wrote about the relocation of the airport shuttles in September, Fred Szabo, the airport's interim director at the time, said staff was analyzing the issue and developing a long-term ground transportation plan.

There is not yet a timetable on when Robert Kennedy, who this month was named the airport director, will make a decision on how to proceed, said Michele Dynia, communications manager for Cleveland Hopkins.

"The new director has walked the drop-off locations with staff and listened to passenger comments. He still plans to review the work already performed and look at examples from other airports for possible solutions," Dynia said.

Cleveland Hopkins renovations: What to look for, what travelers think (photos)

Shuttle drivers initially were told they would be able to use the main roadway starting in mid-2016 when the renovations were set to be complete, said Crystal Rodin of Berea, who has driven for Airport Fast Park for the past five years.

"It's just a big hassle," Rodin said. "It's an inconvenience to our passengers."

Airport Fast Park uses the limo lot, which is somewhat removed from the main terminal. The limo lot is the drop-off site for all shuttles from the orange lot, a hotel or an off-site parking lot.

After getting off the shuttle, travelers need to take an escalator down to the lower level where the RTA station is, then take another escalator up to the ticketing area.

When arriving at the airport by shuttle - either from the orange lot, a hotel or an off-site parking lot, travelers now are dropped off at the limo lot. Here's the path they must take to the ticketing area:

Cleveland Hopkins limo lot shuttles

"I don't know how people who aren't from here know," said Kevin Hocevar of Cleveland, who flies a few times every quarter. "There are multiple levels."

Even for the seasoned travelers, navigating the route from limo lot to ticketing is a tricky one. Despite signs marking the way, it's a long path that involves passing through three different levels of the airport.

Sam Jordan of Youngstown sees that confusion on the faces of his customers. He runs See the World Tours and leads groups of travelers from across the country on sight-seeing trips. The groups depart from Cleveland Hopkins about every month, and Jordan is disappointed in the new location of the shuttles.

"I like it better when it's at the airport itself. A lot of my people are 50-plus and dragging suitcases," said Jordan, who took a shuttle from the nearby Crowne Plaza hotel lot. "...They've accepted it because there's no other choice."

The old location of the shuttles was not without its faults though, he said. Shuttles used to drop off passengers in the middle aisle of the main roadway, leaving people to "dodge cars" to get into the ticketing area.

The waiting game

But in the limo lot, the canopy erected to shield passengers often is not wide enough to accommodate travelers and their luggage, and many people end up walking in front of the parking shuttles, Airport Fast Park's Rodin said.

And, while the canopy does offer protection from the wind, it's not an ideal waiting area, according to Marcina Alston of Los Angeles and Michele Washington of Columbus.

"I wish they were a little more convenient so we didn't have to stand in the elements," Washington said while waiting for a shuttle from the Sheraton hotel lot. "The other night, when we came in, it was freezing."

"This is very inconvenient," said Alston, who originally is from Cleveland and flies back a few times a year. "When we first were dropped off here, I was shocked."

The two agreed that having heaters in the canopy area would help make the wait time better.

Doris Dawson of Mansfield and her husband, Delbert Dawson, headed back inside the main airport building to wait for their shuttle from Days Inn to get out of the January weather last week. From there, they could watch for an approaching shuttle and then race outside and through the canopy tunnel to try to get on their shuttle before it filled with other travelers.

It's more challenging for drivers to expeditiously pick up passengers because of the limited size of the limo lot, Airport Fast Park's Rodin said.

Companies are only permitted to have one shuttle waiting for passengers at the airport at a time. Plus, shuttles no longer have designated drop off spots by company, so passengers don't always know exactly where to wait to catch their rides.

"We had assigned doors before," Rodin said. "When people came out, there wasn't so much confusion."

Joe Tortorelli, who is from Illinois and works for the regional Piedmont Airlines, however, said the shuttle situation was "pretty easy" to navigate.

"It's not that far of a walk. At most airports, you have to walk this far," said Tortorelli, who was visiting Cleveland Hopkins for the first time and waiting for a shuttle at the limo lot. 

The drop off and pick up location for shuttles from the brown lot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport now is located at the north end of the baggage claim level. While not quite as far away as the limo lot, the drop off and pick up location for brown lot shuttles still is more of a hike than it used to be. 

Cleveland Hopkins brown lot shuttles

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