After a winter that saw a dramatic increase in the number of blue Breeze Airways jets flying into and out of Vero Beach Regional Airport, the arrival of summer has seen the number of flights drop dramatically. Breeze’s monthly departures from Vero Beach climbed to an all-time high of 154 in March, according to 2025 statistics provided by Airport Director Todd Scher, before sliding to 145 in April and 103 in May. The decrease in departures is expected to continue through the summer, with the airline having scheduled only 88 this month, 85 in July and 82 in August. Only 72 Breeze departures are scheduled for September, typically the slowest month of the year for many local businesses. “This is a typical seasonal shift for us in Vero Beach,” Breeze spokesman Ryne Williams wrote in response to an email from Vero Beach 32963 last week. “Travel in and out of Vero slows down in the summer months. “One of the ways we are able to keep our costs low – therefore, keeping our fares low for our guests – is by using our aircraft efficiently on a seasonal basis, and this is one example of that,” he added. “Come October, however, you’ll see our departures starting to climb back up, reaching over 100 monthly departures from Vero Beach in November.” Currently, Breeze has scheduled 80 departures in October, 105 in November and 114 in December. Williams said the reduction in service impacts “almost every route from Vero,” directing travelers to the airline’s website (www.flybreeze.com) for up-to-date flight schedules. Scher welcomed the seasonal flight reduction – and less-crowded terminal – both of which he said provide an opportunity to proceed with some much-needed airport improvement projects. “The improvements we’re making will make the traveling experience for airline passengers much more pleasant,” he said, “and the summer is the most convenient time for us to engage in these kinds of projects.” Perhaps the most-anticipated project involves enhancements to the terminal at the city-owned-and-operated airport. Plans include the expansion of the baggage-claim area and construction of permanent, covered, open-air walkways connecting the terminal to the fence line for boarding and deboarding passengers. The work, which will be done by Vero Beach-based Proctor Construction, also includes building a permanent, covered open-air waiting area for people meeting passengers on incoming flights. In addition, the project will create a similarly covered outdoor “sterile area” for outgoing passengers who’ve been through their security checks and are waiting to board their flights. Scher said the existing area will be expanded, and benches and chairs will be installed. Arriving passengers might most appreciate the new ADA restrooms that will be built along the terminal-exit area – en route to the parking lot – in the former C.J. Cannon’s restaurant banquet rooms. The airport improvements, however, will reach beyond the terminal to include improvements to both the short-term and long-term parking lots. Installing LED lighting for security, adding left-turn lanes for improves traffic flow and creating a GoLine bus stop are planned for the short-term lot. The long-term lots, meanwhile, will be expanded to provide an additional 113 paved parking spaces and 40 more spaces in an overflow grass lot. LED lighting will be installed, as will an irrigation system for new landscaping. Scher said work on the terminal improvements are expected to begin on July 7, but unexpected delays relating to the parking-lot project have pushed the start date to late September or early October. “Our consultant told us it’s a 60- to 90-day project,” he added, “so it will encroach on our busy season.” The $5 million airport-improvement projects – $3.3 million for the terminal and short-term parking lot, and $1.7 million for the long-term lot – will be funded jointly by the Florida Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration and the city. It should be money well spent, given the success Breeze has enjoyed since adding Vero Beach to its route map in February 2023. Last year, the Utah-based airline transported 170,000 passengers on 1,800 flights into and out of Vero Beach, and the demand for its service here continues to grow, especially during the winter and spring months. Through the first five months of 2024, Breeze flights carried 96,314 passengers to and from Vero Beach. That number soared to 129,665 during the same period this year, with at least 20,000 passengers in each month. The busiest month this year was March, when 31,428 passengers flew into or out of Vero Beach – slightly more than the 29,260 in April and noticeably more than the 25,879 in February. Even Breeze’s May numbers in Vero Beach are rising at an impressive rate, increasing from 5,720 in 2023 to 8,136 in 2024, and to 20,662 this year. “We continue to see great demand as the only commercial carrier in Vero Beach,” Williams said, “and we hope our guests in the region enjoy the added convenience of being able to fly out of their local airport.” Breeze offers non-stop commercial flights from Vero Beach to seven destinations, including three in New York City suburbs – White Plains, Islip and Newburgh. The other destinations are: Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Washington, D.C. Breeze’s service to Washington Dulles International Airport continues to Ogdensburg, New York, which is located on the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence River, 60 miles south of Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. The airline labels the service between Vero Beach and Ogdensburg a “BreezeThru route,” which means the passengers don’t change airplanes but will stop in Washington for a brief layover before continuing to Florida or to northern New York state. Breeze’s service between Vero Beach and Islip was expanded from seasonal to year-round this year. “We’re definitely busier when the airline is busier, and the converse is true as well,” Scher said. “During our busy season, with the way Breeze has expanded its service, there’s always the potential for us to have two aircraft on the ground at the same time, so it can get a little hectic sometimes. “But you have to remember: Breeze is such a small percentage of the airport’s activities that the overall effect is relatively small,” he added. “So even when things slow down for the airline, it doesn’t really impact our full-time administration or operational staff.” Breeze flights account for less than one percent of the arrivals and departures at the airport, which is also home to two fight schools (Skyborne Airline Academy and Paris Air), two fixed-base operators (Corporate Air and Sun Aviation), and Piper Aircraft. Including the airline, the airport has nearly 50 tenants.