When the Vero Beach Regional Airport gets busier this winter – especially after American Airlines in February becomes the third commercial carrier to serve this market – parking might become a challenge.

“There will be a place to park,” Airport Director Todd Scher said, “but depending on the day and the circumstances, it might not be convenient.”

Even with the city’s ongoing multimillion-dollar airport-improvement project adding 113 paved parking spaces – increasing the facility’s total to 238, plus 13 ADA-compliant spots – there will be times when the demand is greater than the supply.

That’s because Breeze Airways, along with soon-to-arrive JetBlue and American Eagle, are expected to generate an unprecedented number of airline passengers here.

 “We’re a small regional airport with one gate,” said Mayor John Cotugno.  “So, yeah, it’s wonderful that we have three airlines offering access to more destinations, but there are going to be some growing pains.”

Actually, City Councilman Aaron Vos has been crunching numbers in the wake of American’s announcement and found that, if all of the airlines’ arriving and departing flights are full, the total daily passenger count on the busiest days could exceed 1,700.

“Where are they going to park?” Vos asked.

Scher said he and his staff will make the most of the facilities they have available – including a large grassy area near the Piper Aircraft complex.

That’s among the challenges the city faces after announcements by JetBlue last month and American last week that they were adding Vero Beach to their route maps.

Starting in November, JetBlue will offer daily direct flights to and from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport.

American Airlines plans to provide daily nonstop service on one of its American Eagle regional jets connecting Vero Beach to Charlotte, North Carolina, beginning on Feb. 12.

Those airlines joined Breeze, which arrived here in February 2023 and has been wildly successful, now offering direct flights to and from seven Northeast destinations: White Plains, Islip and Newburgh in New York; Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Washington, D.C.’s Dulles International Airport.

“We can handle three airlines,” Scher said. “American’s plan is for one flight per day, and it’s a relatively small aircraft with only 76 seats. That shouldn’t create too much additional strain on the airport.

“The key is scheduling – making sure the airlines don’t schedule flights on top of each other, so we don’t have more than one aircraft on the ground here at the same time,” he added. “But this is doable for us.”

In fact, Scher said the airport, despite its limitations, could accommodate more flights and, perhaps, another airline if the carriers were willing to fly off-peak hours.

The airport’s master plan includes an expansion of the terminal building, but Scher said neither Breeze’s success nor the pending arrival of JetBlue and American Eagle has prompted any discussion of embarking on such a project.

“We still have the same projects in place that we did when JetBlue made its announcement,” the director said. “We’ve already got one major project underway.

“Even if we were to do anything else, you really can’t expedite it,” he added. “Do you know how long it takes to get federal funding?”

Besides, Scher said last week that neither JetBlue nor American has yet signed an agreement with the city – something that must be done at least four weeks before an airline may use the airport’s terminal.

Scher said he had been having conversations with American representatives for about six months, but he didn’t learn of last week’s announcement until the day before.

Scher said he also has had preliminary conversations with Allegiant Air and Avelo Airlines, “but that was some time ago.”