ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s no secret that finding parking spaces at Orlando International Airport can sometimes be tough.

And with the number of annual passengers jumping from 35 million to nearly 58 million over the past decade, it’s only gotten worse.

That’s why airport officials are exploring a new plan that could free up thousands of existing garage parking spaces by moving the rental cars.

It’s called a ConRAC, which stands for consolidated rental car facility, and is a concept that airport officials will present at an industry forum next week.

While airport leaders discuss the future of the project, it could change the future of traveling at MCO.

Eugene Ryu considers himself lucky — on this latest trip to Orlando International Airport, he only had a do a few laps around the terminal garage to find parking. Usually, he gives himself an hour or two of extra time before his flight so he can battle it out to find a open parking space.

“It can be frustrating, but I guess I've worn into it a little bit,” Ryu said.

He flies out of MCO once or twice a month because, as a flight instructor, the sky is his office. But he’s tired of the headaches he endures on the ground in order to get there.

“I try to enjoy the dream,” Ryu said. “Sometimes it’s hard, but I try.”

Feedback about how difficult parking can be a topic that Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault said he is all too familiar with, as more people fly in and out of Orlando every year.

“We have seen tremendous growth in the area, right?" Thibault said. "A lot of population growth, a lot of people want to travel, and they are using the airport just as much, if not more than, we have ever seen. And that has strained some of the parking requirements that we have here, so, clearly, we are trying to respond to that.”

To do so, he’s directing his attention to the rental cars, which have been taking up spots in Terminals A and B for the past 30 years. Now, he wants to move them to a proposed consolidated rental car facility, hoping to make it easier for passengers to park, whether they arrive in their own car or rent one here.

“We then can take the rental cars out of the garages — that will free up over 4,500 parking spaces in all three garages — and then putting them at a consolidated location," Thibault said.

The GOAA is considering a plan to put rental cars at a consolidated facility to free up parking in the terminal garages. (Rendering courtesy of GOAA)

While the ConRAC concept is in the airport’s capital improvement plan, it’s still in the early stages of development, with conceptual renderings showing what it could be years down the line.

Thibault explained that, at the moment, airport officials plan to keep the ConRAC on property, near Terminal C, and visitors will access it by a people mover.

“A lot of airports recently — large ones, O’Hare (Chicago), Newark (New Jersey), LAX (Los Angeles),” Thibault said. “They all have just implemented consolidated rental car facilities. As you know, we're one of the world's largest rental car markets, and so LAX is one that's very similar to us. So we've used them as kind of a guide to say, 'OK, size and scope, where what were their considerations?'"

As for those who rent cars from one of the 10 companies on property, like Catherine Hendricks and her friend who were visiting from Detroit, hearing the idea of moving the rental cars out of terminal garage makes her want to pump the breaks.

“Yeah, it’s just much more convenient, because you're already on the people mover to go from the terminal to down to get your luggage, you know, to the other side of the airport to get your luggage, so yeah, I paid extra for it, so I didn't have to do that,” said Hendricks, who likes to walk straight from the terminal into the garage.

While having to go further to get to the ConRAC might seem like an inconvenience, Thibault said he believes it will make it easier for both the rental car companies and those renting from them by providing a single place for them to go, and adding services to make the process seamless.

“If you're returning your rental car at the consolidated rental car facility, we will actually have at that location a drop-off spot where you can check in your bag, so once you check in your bag, all you are carrying is your carry-on,” he said.

With that in mind, Hendricks said she would be willing to give the ConRAC a test drive.

“That'd be great,” she said. “Hopefully, they can get it done.”

Airport officials' goal is to advertise the project by the end of the year and have it fully operational by 2030.

While the ConRAC is still in the distant future, it’s a welcomed concept for passengers like Ryu.

“Those changes sound like exciting changes and for a person who will be working around in and around the airports, it would be a very helpful implementation for the future,” Ryu said.

Thibault, who last week announced his resignation effective in January 2025 to focus on recent family health issues, said the rental car companies they’ve discussed the concept with are fully behind the ConRAC.

In order to fund the project, the customer facility charge that rental car customers pay will go up from $6 to $9 dollars per day. That change will go into effect on Nov. 1.

Orlando International Airport also is taking some steps to improve parking in the short term. Airport officials added more than 2,000 additional parking spaces, including three new surface parking lots near the train station. They are also using a new parking reservation system in Garage C, expanded their partnership with the Lynx bus system and are installing a new parking space identification system that uses red and green lights to alert drivers where open spaces are to prevent endless circling and congestion.