Darwin International Airport officials have increased security patrols for parked cars at the airport and are charging a $2 “temporary security surcharge” to all customers to pay for it, that they say will end if crime subsides.

The fees came into effect at the start of the month, after airport officials acknowledged a spate of vehicle thefts and damage to cars at the airport.

Officials said around-the-clock security checks were added to the airport’s 2,300-slot car park after a the surge in thefts and vandalism in recent months. The move to increase parking security includes more foot, vehicle and dog patrols, as well as an expansion of the airport’s CCTV security coverage.

Airport officials said they “anticipated” the $2 daily security surcharge “will be removed should crime levels dissipate”, but did not offer a timeline for when they suspected crime might end.

“Darwin International Airport is gravely concerned about the damage and theft of vehicles from the airports’ car park,” airport general manager of property Ross Baynes told media late last month.

“This vandalism and theft is coordinated and brazen.

“Our customers expect their vehicles to be safe while parked at our airport and we are putting in place a number of measures to meet these expectations.

“These necessary measures will significantly increase our operating costs and to partially offset these, current car park charges will increase.”

Vehicle theft in Darwin increased 42 per cent in the 12 months to May this year compared to the previous year, according to police statistics. But based on population, vehicles in Alice Springs were getting stolen at more than twice the rate of Darwin, police statistics show.

The figures also revealed an average of 5.8 vehicles stolen each day across the Territory, with the NT holding the worst car theft rates in the nation in 2021, according to a national report.