Some people will pay as much as 30 percent more to park at state airports, while drivers making a quick stop might not pay at all, under new rates announced yesterday by the state Department of Transportation.

The daily parking rate at Honolulu International Airport will go up from $10 to $13 a day on Aug. 17.

However, people who park for two days or more can still pay the old $10 rate at a new "economy lot" at Lot J, an at-grade parking lot between the new parking structure and the main terminal parking structure. That lot has a two-day minimum.

Daily rates at Neighbor Island airports will increase from $7 to $9 a day.

They are the first parking rate increases at Hawai'i airports since 1993, the state said. The rate hikes are meant to help pay for the parking improvements at airports statewide, Airports Division Deputy Director Brian Sekiguchi said in a news release.

The good news for travelers is that the DOT will implement a grace period at all airports, allowing people to park for free for the first 15 minutes.

The state said it will have spent $67.3 million for parking improvements at all state airports in the four-year period ending June 30, 2010. The state built an 1,800-stall parking structure at Honolulu airport, three new surface lots at Kona (adding 880 spaces), a new surface lot at Kahului (1,800 spaces) and expanded lots at Hilo (450 spaces) and Lihu'e (786 spaces).