Bradley Advertises to Attract Southern CT Travelers, Lamont Seeks to Grow Competitor Closer to Home

The advertising campaign’s message is concise and clear:  if you’re doing business in New Haven or Fairfield County, your airport of choice ought to be Bradley International in Windsor Locks, north of Hartford.

But even as the advertising urges travelers in Southern Connecticut to “Come Home to Bradley” for “better business travel close to home,” Governor Ned Lamont is calling for the state to launch a formal selection process that will result in either Tweed-New Haven or Sikorsky Airport, just outside of Bridgeport, being selected to grow into “a fully functioning regional airport.”

A full page ad in New Haven BIZ magazine, published days before the Governor unveiled his comprehensive CT2030 plan, is part of a sustained effort to boost passenger traffic at Bradley by redirecting travelers who use New York metropolitan area airports for business travel, citing the virtues of Bradley, New England’s second largest airport (after Boston’s Logan).  

Lamont’s preference, however, is to keep those travelers even closer to home, by transforming “either Tweed New Haven Airport or Sikorsky Memorial Airport into a regional airport offering about 30 daily flights to major economic hubs across the country.”

It is, according to the CT2030 plan summary, “perhaps the most transformative enhancement of CT2030,” a comprehensive transportation plan that recommends infrastructure repair and enhancements to mass transit, airports, ports and highways, including the imposition of tolls in some locations.

The CT2030 plan “recognizes that airports are an important part of any region’s transportation system as they are major drivers of a solid economic engine that attracts business.”  Similar to the intermodal design for Bradley that is included in the plan, the selected airport for expanded regional flights will also be connected to public transit, the draft plan states.

“An objective selection process will engage all stakeholders at all levels to determine which airport will be selected and transformed,” the plan indicates, “led by the governor’s office with guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington. “Robust input from residents” is anticipated.

Overall, CT2030’s $21 Billion investment is expected to result in 26,000 jobs per year over the Plan’s 10 years, according to estimates announced by the governor’s Office. Implementation of the plan will result in approximately $40 billion of economic activity for Connecticut, according to officials.

The comprehensive plan is expected to be considered - perhaps with revisions - by the Connecticut General Assembly next year.