BANGOR – With two new destination hubs for Bangor International Airport to be added in June and passenger numbers rising, the airport seems to be flying high.

But such prosperity comes with its own set of problems, and on the ground, the airport is feeling growing pains. Finding a parking spot is becoming increasingly difficult. The airport expects it could use as many as 117 new spaces.

BIA now has 803 public parking spots, but some projections put that need eventually as high as 1,348 spots.

If the airport is going to have problems, this is the kind to have, airport Director Rebecca Hupp said Wednesday. The need for parking spaces reflects an increase in demand for flights.

“I think that this is a good problem to have,” Hupp said Wednesday.

The number of passengers taking off from BIA increased 11 percent in 2004, although so far this year it has been at a slower pace of 21/2 percent for the first two months of this year, reflecting what Hupp said is expected to be a slow growth year. But on June 9, BIA will be adding Newark and Minneapolis to its existing list of destination hubs that includes Boston, New York, Cincinnati, Detroit and Philadelphia.

Still, parking is a problem, with both short-term and long-term implications.

Short term, the airport is displacing some employee parking spots to allow for more public space. Winter and spring breaks for families and students mean that March and April, along with the end of the months of January and February, are traditional peak times for overnight parking at the airport, Hupp said.

To accommodate passengers, the airport has opened a pre-paid lot for passengers, displacing some employees who will be parking in temporary alternative locations.

“People will be able to find a parking space at the airport,” Hupp said.

Hupp expects that the airport will continue this process next year as the airport and city work on long-term solutions. The airport is reviewing the logistics on a half-dozen proposed solutions included in the consultant’s report and is expected to forward that information to City Manager Ed Barrett in the upcoming weeks and then to the Bangor City Council.

Those proposed solutions are based on expansion in two directions. The only options are to build up or out, Hupp said.

Building out may prove problematic, however, especially when security measures, heightened since the terrorist attacks in 2001, are imposed. Should the threat level rise to orange, the Transportation Security Agency would institute minimum distances for motor vehicles to be parked away from the terminal building. Hupp said at its maximum restriction, the airport would lose 180 parking spots.

There are potential issues with other proposals included in the report that look to build out. Two options call for expanding parking into the grassy area by the exit plaza and other modifications that would increase parking spots by 130 to 173 spots, but at an expense between $454,000 and more than $1 million.

One alternative would be to expand the current lot toward the city side and move the exit road from the terminal further toward the city, circling the expanded lot. That could add 277 spots at a cost of $700,000, not including costs to relocate the existing rental car parking area. A consultant’s report points out that this alternative would add $1.2 million in expenses over 20 years to run the second lot.

A shuttle service running between a remote parking lot on Godfrey Boulevard is also an option, but Hupp said it would be expensive to operate and cumbersome for customers.

What appears most promising is to build a garage that would add 300 parking spots on top of an existing 150 spot parking area. At a projected cost of $5.4 million, the project would be bonded over 20 years and be covered by revenues and airport funds.

“From both an operational and customer service standpoint, a parking structure provides a more consistent operation and a much higher level of service to the traveling public,” the report states. “Since Bangor International Airport is in strong competition with other regional airports, this customer convenience factor is significant.”