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If you don’t drive a Lexus, you’re not welcome to park in 30 spots at the Edmonton International Airport.

Stalls in the airport’s parking garage’s second and third levels are painted “Preferred Parking,” along with a logo of the luxury car brand.

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The preferential treatment is creating a furor on social media with some labelling it elitist, while others call it creative marketing.

Edmonton International Airport also took to Twitter on Monday to defend the parking spots, explaining that Lexus has paid for 30 of the airport’s more than 13,500 stalls through a contract with Pattison Outdoor Advertising that runs until March 2017. There are 2,200 stalls in the parkade. No financial terms of the contract are being released.

“As a not-for-profit, we have always reinvested parking revenue to offset costs,” the airport tweeted. It said other groups can also sponsor spots.

The deal with Lexus and Pattison also includes a giant wrap of the terminal tower and a Lexus display vehicle inside the terminal. The Lexus spots, installed last week, are located in blocks of seven. No handicapped stalls were removed for the Lexus stalls, as was circulated on social media.