Who’s #2? Bradley International Widens the Gap with Rhode Island’s Green Airport

Boston’s Logan International is far and away New England’s largest and busiest airport, by every measure. The battle for number two appears to be skewing even more strongly towards Connecticut’s BDL.

Recently obtained data indicates that passenger traffic at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport in August declined 7.2% year over year, while the decrease at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport in the same year-over-year was only 4.4 percent.

At Green, the year-over-year decline in August reflects a continuing trend in 2019, during which traffic has been closer to 2017 numbers than 2018 results, according to published reports. Year to date, passengers enplaned and deplaned at Green totaled 2.6 million, a 9.2% decline year over year.

At Bradley, however, officials indicate that year-to-date numbers, through October, reflect a 1.4% increase in passenger traffic. With six consecutive years of increasing numbers, the passenger traffic at Bradley has increased by 23%, from 5,420,853 passengers in 2013 to 6,668,198 passengers in 2018.

Bradley has also seen a 27.7% increase in cargo traffic thus far this year, building on a growing trend evident in 2018. The Hartford Business Journal reported in April that Bradley’s growth in freight is attributable to increasing e-commerce and package delivery, and is further reflected by the relocation midway in 2018 of Dallas-based Pinnacle Logistics, which moved to Windsor Locks, signing a five-year lease, after closing its warehouse operation near Green Airport in Rhode Island.

Last month, Bradley launched its inaugural Frontier Airlines nonstop flight to Miami. The nonstop service will operate seasonally through April 2020, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Frontier Airlines also operates flights to Denver, Orlando and Raleigh-Durham out of Bradley, launched this past spring. The nonstop flight to Denver launched in March and operates year-round. The Orlando and Raleigh-Durham nonstop services launched in May and operate seasonally.

In July, state officials and project stakeholders held a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site of Bradley International Airport’s new Ground Transportation Center. The new 1.4 million square feet facility will span across 13.4 acres and will be located west of the existing short-term and long-term parking garage, with a direct connection to Terminal A. It will take an estimated three years to complete.

Bradley International Airport is operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, which was established in 2011. Bradley has also earned a spot in the prestigious ranking of five best airports in the U.S. by Condé Nast Traveler, three years in a row.