Local News

Brendon Byrnes paid $276 to park his truck at Logan for six days, only to learn that the vehicle had been stolen shortly after he left for vacation.

By Abby Patkin

May 13, 2026 | 12:14 PM

2 minutes to read

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After his truck was stolen from a Boston Logan Airport garage back in March, Brendon Byrnes thought that getting his parking fee refunded would be the simplest part of his post-vacation nightmare.

He quickly filed for reimbursement with the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, and waited weeks without answer. Massport finally responded in early May with a terse denial that cited unspecified “circumstances.”

“I was surprised,” Byrnes said in a phone interview Monday. “I thought it would just be like when you go to a store and you say, ‘I want a refund’ or whatever, you explain your case, and it’s a quick transaction.”

The Boxborough resident only learned that his truck was missing after he stopped at a kiosk on his way out of the airport to pay $276 for six days in the central parking garage. Investigators would later determine the truck had been stolen a couple days after Byrnes, his wife, and their children went on vacation March 20.

The theft left Byrnes and his family without a ride home, but it also meant that he had been charged the regular parking rate for several days after his truck was caught on camera “piggybacking” out of the garage behind another car.

“If I hadn’t paid at the kiosk as you’re supposed to, and I just waited to pay at the gate when I exited, they (Massport) would have gotten no money,” a frustrated Byrnes explained. “At a certain point, I almost feel like they’re stealing, because they know when my truck exited, and there was a car parked in the spot I was in, so they’re basically getting paid twice.”

He said he grew frustrated after receiving conflicting information over several emails and phone calls with Massport, prompting him to file a dispute with his credit card company and complain to Gov. Maura Healey’s office. 

But after Boston.com sought comment on Byrnes’s case, a Massport spokesperson said the agency’s “initial response to the refund request was incorrect, and we are now taking the appropriate steps to process the individual’s original refund request.”

Byrnes said he’ll remain skeptical until he sees the reimbursement hit his credit card.

“I’m glad they are doing the right thing,” he added. “I wish they had done this from the beginning.”

As for the truck itself, Byrnes said he’s lost hope of seeing his vehicle again. 

“I’m guessing that it’s in a container or on a cargo ship or dismantled or whatever,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll be getting it back.”