250 East Haven/New Haven Students Explore Aviation With Avelo At Tweed

NEW HAVEN, CT — Tuesday, 250 students from East Haven and New Haven participated in the Exploring Aviation Open House at Tweed-New Haven Airport.

The half-day event, hosted by Avelo Airlines and HVN, included kindergarten, middle school and high school students from several East Haven and New Haven public schools.

The students had the opportunity to:

• Participate in a guided “behind the scenes” tour of Tweed Airport
• Explore an Avelo Airlines Next-Generation Boeing 737 jetliner.
• Meet with Avelo Crewmembers (including pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and airport customer service representatives), as well as other aviation professionals from Tweed, Avports, and TSA
• Get an up-close look at airport ground support and emergency response equipment.

The Open House coincided with the third anniversary of the Avelo Aviation Career Exploration Program, a pioneering three-way partnership between Avelo, East Haven Public Schools, and Scouting America (formerly known as Boy Scouts of America). The ACE program debuted in December 2022 to inspire a new generation of aerospace professionals. The co-ed ACE Program is the first middle school-focused curriculum of its kind in the country.

"The East Haven School District is fortunate to have partnered with Avelo and Scouting America," East Haven Board of Education Chair Michele DeLucia said. "Together we have developed such an innovative and unique aviation program, that I hope will continue to inspire and benefit both our students and the surrounding community.

While today’s open house was attended by high school, middle school and kindergarten
students, the four-month ACE Program curriculum focuses exclusively on sixth, seventh, and eighth grade middle school students. East Haven Public Schools and Avelo Airlines are collaborating with the Scouting America’s Connecticut Yankee Council to provide essential curriculum development and program management.

Following today’s open house, approximately 50 students from East Haven’s Joseph Melillo Middle School and East Haven Academy will be accepted into the ACE Program.

"We are proud of our three-year partnership with Mayor Carfora, East Haven Public Schools and Scouting America on this first- of-its-kind program," Avelo Airlines Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said. "Airlines like ours will need an increasingly large, talented and diverse field of candidates to draw from in the years ahead. The future has never been brighter for young people dreaming of a career in aviation. This unique business-education partnership will create life-changing pathways for these students to achieve their aviation career dreams — many of whom I look forward to calling fellow Avelo Crewmembers in the future."

According to East Haven Public Schools, more than 50 percent of their middle school students are
believed to have never flown on a commercial airline flight. The ACE Program is intended to
expose students and their parents to the broad range of aerospace career opportunities. More
than 1 million people are employed in the U.S. airline industry. In 2024, alone more than
200,000 jobs were created in this fast-growing sector.

"Tweed-New Haven Airport is more than just a gateway for travel—it’s a place where future careers take flight," HVN CEO Michael Jones said. "We’re proud to partner with Avelo Airlines, New Haven and East Haven Public Schools, and Scouting America to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals. Together, we’re creating meaningful opportunities that strengthen and uplift our neighboring communities which allows students to experience aviation firsthand. By investing in education and engagement through initiatives like these, we’re ensuring a brighter future for our community and the aviation industry alike.”

The ACE curriculum will include a combination of after-school classroom instruction, in-person and remote guest speakers, interactive learning experiences and local and out-of-state field trips that include:

Traveling to Orlando where students will have the chance to fly multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art flight simulators.

Piloting a single-engine aircraft with a professional flight instructor from the Yale Flying Club.

Taking an orientation roundtrip flight on an Avelo Airlines 737 from HVN to Washington, D.C. to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) headquarters.

Touring the Sikorsky aerospace manufacturing facility in Stratford.

Meeting aerospace professionals and leaders, including pilots, astronauts, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, airport managers and representatives, as well as officials from government agencies, including the FAA, Department of Transportation and Transportation Safety Administration

"The Aviation Explorers Club trip to Tweed Airport is an extraordinary opportunity for our middle school students to discover the world of aviation firsthand," East Haven Public Schools Superintendent Erica Forti said. "Thanks to the generosity and dedication of Michael Quiello, Avelo Airlines’ Head of Safety and Operational Excellence and Avports’ Director of Community Engagement Tom Cavaliere, our students will have an inside look at the industry—from the cockpit of a plane to the operations on the tarmac. This hands-on experience is designed to spark our student’s curiosity and open doors to possible future careers in the field of aviation. We are proud to provide our students with opportunities that inspire learning beyond the classroom and grateful for the partnerships that make it possible."

To inspire young people to consider aerospace careers earlier in their education journey than conventional high school career orientation programs, students will be selected from the 6th,7th and 8th grades. Middle school-aged children are still young enough to adjust their academic and extracurricular choices to prepare them for an aerospace career.

"Exploring is a program of Scouting America designed to help young people discover career
opportunities across a wide range of industries and professions," Connecticut Yankee Council of Scouting America Exploring Program Director Paul Lukas said. "For over 50 years Exploring has
helped connect student interests with businesses and organizations in their community. Our
partnership with East Haven, Avelo and HVN is unique because this is the first Aviation
Exploring Club specifically for middle school students. We are thrilled to see this program
continue to thrive and grow while giving students the opportunity to learn first-hand from
aviation industry professionals."

The 2025 ACE class will conclude in June 2025 at the close of the spring term. At that time,
students who have successfully completed the program will be invited to participate in a
badging ceremony. Approximately, 100 students have completed the program in its first two
years.