Parking at the Kamloops Airport will become faster and more convenient when a new pay-by-licence-plate system goes live early next month.

Airport manager Fred Legace said the system will allow people to pay in the terminal and avoid shivering in the winter cold.

It works simply, he said. Passengers and customers will need to make a mental note of their vehicle’s license plate before heading inside, where two machines will be waiting.

“From there you enter in your licence number and tell it how many days or hours you’re going to be gone,” said Legace. “It helpfully calculates the money for you and takes it from your credit card.”

Unlike the current system, a ticket stub will not be printed, he said. The visitor checks-in for his or her flight or waits for their friend or family member to arrive.

The current system created a stub that needed to be placed on a vehicle’s dashboard. Legace said this method was problematic, as people would forget to take the stub back to their car, truck, minivan or SUV.

And having a stub on the dash made people vulnerable, he said. Someone could walk by, notice the vehicle would be untouched for several weeks, and break in.

“This (new method) offers a higher level of security,” he said.

Legace hopes to have the system up and running in early October.