Jan. 3—NEW HAVEN — Imagine getting ready for an Avelo Airlines flight at and suddenly learning that driving to Tweed New Haven Regional Airport is no longer an option and you have to get dropped off or park five miles away and catch a bus.
Or imagine driving to the airport to catch that flight and learning upon arrival that parking is full and you have to drive 5.2 miles across the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge to Union Station in New Haven, look for parking there and then catch a bus, cab or ride share back to Tweed.
It could happen.
Over the holidays, even if for only a short time, parking was full to capacity at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport.
"Due to holiday travel demand, all parking lots at HVN are at capacity," Tweed posted on its official Facebook page Dec. 26. "Until further notice, drops off only. For other parking options, visit parkhvn.com."
Officials from Tweed and Avports, the company that operates Tweed, said they know of no one who drove to the airport only to find out the airport's three parking lots were full.
They said they are working to provide more parking for the short term — and additional parking is part of the plan when Tweed ultimately implements its $100 million expansion, which also will include a new terminal on the East Haven side of the airport.
But that's an expansion proposal for which Tweed — which has been issued cease-and-desist orders by the city twice in recent weeks for allowing people to park in unapproved areas — has yet to formally apply.
"Every day, we are working to find solutions to make sure our passengers can enjoy the convenience" of flying out of Tweed, said Sean Scanlon, the now-former Tweed New Haven Airport Authority executive director who was to take the oath of office to become Connecticut's new state comptroller on Wednesday.
Scanlon spoke just before leaving the Tweed job at the end of December.
"If we have spaces, we find spaces for them," but if lots are all full, travelers need to use alternatives, Scanlon said. "Again, it's a frustrating situation that changes by the hour. ... We have the website there for people to review."
In addition, travelers with Avelo flight bookings get emails to let them know whether parking is near capacity and they should go to parkhvn.com to check their options, Scanlon said.
The days surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas this year "was the busiest time we've ever had in probably 30-plus years at the airport," Scanlon said. "I think we had about 25,000 people" go through Tweed, he said.
"We always urge people to go to parkhvn.com where they can see in real-time how many spaces are left," Scanlon said.
The parking crunch appeared to have dissipated by this week, according to parkhvn.com. As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, there were 17 parking spaces available in Tweed's closest Lot A, 92 spaces available in the adjacent Lot B and 335 spaces available in the larger, more remote Lot C behind the terminal.
Andrew King, spokesman for Avports, said to the best of his knowledge no one was turned away who showed up to park at Tweed.
"We kept an inventory of spaces specifically for the people who don't have time to go anywhere else," he said. "We also sent emails out to anybody who might be affected to tell them that it's drop-offs only."
"The parking crunch was a short-lived issue. It only lasted maybe two days. ... We never had to turn people away," King said.
He pointed out that Tweed has an application pending before the City Plan Commission for 34 additional parking spaces that will be heard on Jan. 25.
Meanwhile, "we continue to work with the city and we continue to work with East Haven on the long-term part of the project, which will include additional parking, obviously," King said. "I think all of this points to a new, modern terminal and additional parking, as detailed in the master plan."
Michael Jones, CEO of The New HVN LLC, the Avports subsidiary that runs Tweed, said "parking at HVN is a story of great customer service. Setting expectations and then meeting them is key to an exceptional traveling experience.
"From the time a customer books a ticket all the way through their return, we're focused on delivering up-to-date information that empowers the customer to manage their journey," he said in a written statement. "When parking is near capacity, because we have a great partner in Avelo, we have the unusual ability to communicate directly to passengers to make sure they know the many options available.
"While parking may sometimes reach capacity, we look to provide a variety of options to meet passenger needs," Jones said.
Avelo spokesman Jim Olson said Avelo is working with Tweed to make things as smooth as possible for passengers.
"We are committed to providing a positive and convenient experience for our customers throughout their journey with Avelo," Olson said in an email. "We work closely with Tweed New Haven Airport to help ensure their journey to and from the airport is as smooth as possible.
"We know parking at the airport does reach capacity at times — especially during popular travel periods like the end-of-year holiday season," Olson said. "One of the ways we are helping our customers is by proactively and directly communicating with them prior to their departure through both SMS / Text and email.
"For example, we sent messages directly more than 10,000 customers over the past couple weeks reminding them that parking might reach capacity and to check the HVN website for lot availability, offsite parking options, as well as alternative ground transportation options, such as Lyft or taxi services," he said.
Colorado-based aviation consultant Michael Boyd said Tweed's growing pains are a good thing.
"When new service levels suddenly outstrip airport capacity — particularly at an airport that has been essentially moribund for years like HVN — it is validation of the Avelo concept," Boyd said.
"HVN has transformed from a dying network-airline spoke airport to a new role as a leisure-product gateway for the Connecticut coast," he said. "So, if parking is tight, that's solid evidence of more needed investment.
"To have invested in it a year ago would have been very risky, as the Avelo program was new and any traffic estimates were just that," Boyd said.
What's going on at Tweed is not comparable to issues at other, large airports that have faced recent parking capacity issues, such as Miami and Syracuse, N.Y., Boyd said.
"They have been in operation for years," he said of the larger airports. "As far as Tweed is concerned, Avelo is a whole new and very different air transportation system, compared to the past service at the airport. So the real story is the traffic volume, and not the fact it's making parking difficult."
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