North Texas residents waiting to pick up someone at DFW International Airport will have a new option that could help them save on gas and parking fees.

The airport announced Friday that a cellphone parking lot has opened just outside the north entrance off state highways 114 and 121. The lot allows drivers to park for free while waiting for their pickup to arrive, saving them the hassle of circling the terminal or finding a spot in the parking garage.

The lot is also meant to cut down on the practice of drivers pulling over to wait on the shoulders of the road leading up to the airport's toll plazas.

“The lot is a direct response to customer demand for an easily accessible waiting area for people who are picking up arriving customers,” the airport said in a statement. “The lot will help with curbside congestion and decrease pollution from vehicle circulation in the terminal areas.”

The lot is south of Airfield Drive in the median between north and southbound International Parkway leading to the airport. Drivers heading south toward the entrance will take a left exit to access the lot.

Airport spokesman David Magana said a similar cellphone lot for the south entrance is in the planning stages.

Drivers will still have to pay the toll when they enter the airport grounds, but they could save a dollar or more on parking by reducing time spent inside the gates.

Parking rates at DFW Airport start at $2 for trips inside the gate lasting eight minutes to half an hour, increasing to $3 for stays of up to two hours. The airport charges $4 for people who spend less than eight minutes between the toll gates, a way of discouraging people from using the airport roads as a shortcut on their commutes.

Airport parking revenue lagged expectations in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, in part due to changing consumer habits and a reduction in average length of stay.

The airport reported that it’s parking revenue was 6.1 percent lower than expected, a gap of about $8.7 million, through the first 11 months of the 2017 fiscal year. In total, the airport brought in $133.1 million from parking in that period.

The new cellphone lot will have 53 spaces available around the clock, with parking limited to two hours.

Across the metro, Love Field Airport made changes to its cellphone lot set up earlier this year. The lot, on Herb Kelleher Way near the terminals, was shut down in March as part of construction on a third parking garage.

In its place, Love Field has established a free, 60-space express pickup zone in Garage A, where drivers can wait up to two hours. Parking is free for the first hour in any of the Garage A spaces.