Case Study: Burlington International Airport

At a Glance

• Industry: Airport / Transportation
• Location: Burlington, Vermont
• Operation: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Parking Capacity: 2,600+ spaces across garage and outdoor lots
• Annual Permits: ~860 employee and crew permits issued or renewed per year
• Modules Implemented: ParkAdmin
• Key Result: Replaced a manual, office-hours-only permit process with 24/7 online self-service access for employees and crew

Overview

Burlington International Airport (BTV) is a regional airport in Burlington, Vermont, serving business and leisure travelers with flights operated by Delta, JetBlue, Porter, United, and American Airlines. The airport operates around the clock — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — with a workforce that keeps equally non-traditional hours.

Managing parking permits for that workforce was a growing problem. The airport issues and renews approximately 860 employee and crew permits each year, but the parking office handling those transactions was only open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. For a team that works nights, weekends, and rotating shifts, that mismatch created persistent friction.

The solution wasn’t more staff or longer office hours. It was a modern parking management system that could handle permit transactions online, at any hour, without requiring office involvement.

The Challenge

BTV’s employee and crew parking program relied on a manual process that was increasingly difficult to sustain. With 860 permits to manage annually and a parking office operating on a standard weekday schedule, the system created problems for both staff and permit holders.

Key challenges included:

• The parking office was only open weekdays from 9am to 5pm — a schedule that didn’t align with the hours of airline crew, ground staff, and other airport employees working evenings, nights, and weekends
• Annual permit renewals were handled entirely manually, requiring permit holders to visit the office in person during business hours
• Staff time was consumed by routine permit transactions that could be handled online
• No centralized permit holder database — tracking 860 active permits, renewal dates, and contact information was an administrative burden
• No automated renewal reminders — permit holders missed renewal windows, creating enforcement complications
• No online payment option — all permit purchases required an in-person transaction at the office

For an airport that never closes, a permit management process tied to a five-day, eight-hour office schedule simply wasn’t sustainable.

The Solution

Burlington International Airport implemented ParkAdmin through OperationsCommander (OPSCOM) to move their employee and crew permit program entirely online — giving permit holders 24/7 self-service access and giving airport staff the administrative tools to manage the program efficiently without manual intervention at every step.

The implementation focused on three core needs: online access for permit holders, automated renewal workflows, and a centralized permit database that the parking office could manage from one place.

ParkAdmin — Parking Management

ParkAdmin gave BTV a connected permit management environment built around the reality of airport operations:

• Online permit purchasing and renewal — employees and crew access and pay for permits at any time, from any device, regardless of office hours
• Centralized permit holder database — all 860+ employee and crew permits managed in one system, with complete account and payment history
• Automated renewal reminders sent directly to permit holders with a link to renew online — eliminating the need for staff to manually track and notify each permit holder
• Credit card payment processing online — no cash handling, no manual receipts, no in-person payment required
• Temporary permit printing — permit holders can print a temporary permit for immediate parking access while waiting to visit the office for a physical permit if required
• Self-service account management — permit holders view permit status, payment history, and account details without contacting the parking office
• Administrative tools for the parking office to manage the full permit program from one connected platform

Because airport operations and staffing schedules vary significantly from traditional campus or municipal environments, the flexibility of ParkAdmin’s permit configuration tools was essential — supporting multiple employee and crew categories, lot assignments, and renewal cycles within one system.

What the Platform Is Designed to Deliver

ParkAdmin was configured specifically for BTV’s employee and crew permit program, addressing each of the operational challenges the airport identified. Here is what the platform brings to an operation like Burlington International Airport.

24/7 Permit Access for Employees and Crew

Employees and crew can purchase, renew, and manage their parking permits at any time — not just during the five-day window when the parking office is open. For airport staff working overnight shifts, weekends, or irregular schedules, this removes a genuine barrier that previously required either special accommodation or permits lapsing through missed renewal windows.

Automated Renewals Replace Manual Follow-Up

Annual permit renewals are handled through automated renewal reminders with direct payment links. Permit holders receive a notification, click through, and renew online without involving parking office staff. The process that previously consumed significant administrative time runs largely on its own once the system is live.

Reduced Parking Office Workload

With permit purchases, renewals, and payments handled online, the volume of routine transactions requiring parking office involvement drops substantially. Staff time previously spent processing permit payments and tracking renewal dates becomes available for higher-value responsibilities — a direct operational benefit of moving to a self-service parking management platform.

A Centralized, Accurate Permit Database

All employee and crew permit information — account details, permit status, payment history, renewal dates, and contact information — is maintained in one centralized system. The parking office gains a real-time view of the full permit program, making it straightforward to identify expired permits, follow up on renewals, and produce accurate records without manual reconciliation.

A Foundation for Future Growth

BTV’s ParkAdmin implementation was designed with flexibility for future expansion. As the airport’s parking program evolves — whether through additional permit categories, enforcement workflows, or visitor parking management — the platform is built to scale. Future opportunities could include ViolationAdmin for connected enforcement operations, PL8RDR license plate recognition for automated vehicle validation, or IncidentAdmin for security and incident management connected to the same platform.

Why OPSCOM

Burlington International Airport selected OPSCOM to solve a specific and persistent problem: a permit management process that required in-person office visits in an environment where the workforce operates around the clock. ParkAdmin’s online self-service capabilities and automated renewal workflows addressed that problem directly.

The platform’s flexibility — supporting a range of permit types, lot configurations, and payment workflows without requiring custom development — made it practical to implement quickly and configure to BTV’s specific operational requirements.

For other airports, transportation hubs, or 24/7 operations facing similar challenges with employee permit management, OPSCOM offers a scalable platform that fits the operational reality of environments that never close. Explore how OPSCOM supports property and facility parking operations, or see how a municipal operation modernized enforcement with the Town of Perth case study.

About Burlington International Airport

Burlington International Airport (BTV) is a regional airport located in Burlington, Vermont, serving business and leisure travelers throughout the region. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, BTV offers service through five airline partners — Delta, JetBlue, Porter, United, and American Airlines — with parking facilities including a multi-level covered garage and outdoor lots accommodating more than 2,600 vehicles across short-term, long-term, employee, crew, and oversized vehicle categories.