East Haven Mayor Learns About New Air Carrier At Tweed Via Text

Statement from East Haven Mayor Joseph A Carfora:

EAST HAVEN, CT - Late last evening, I received a text message from Matt Hoey informing me that
AVports and Tweed Airport are bringing in an additional air carrier. This was the first mention of this development to me and my staff, with no prior discussion at the most recent Tweed Authority meeting.

It appears AVports operates under the belief that "more is better," a notion that is perplexing given the documented challenges they currently face in servicing just one airline.

If their business plan centers on expansion, I would much prefer it to include"more" transparency and "less" surprise. To date, we have not been provided with a single engineering plan, the State required comprehensive traffic studies, reputable environmental assessments, public safety plans, or a clear schedule of necessary federal, state and local permits. As recently as last week, there are were still unresolved questions regarding the status of their temporary facilities whose building permits expire in a month.

The Town and Save the Sound’s legal challenge to the FONSI is ongoing and will not be
resolved until sometime in 2025. The AVPorts proposed schedule for expansion has been revised and delayed several times and remains an open question. The lack of organization and communication on the part of AVPorts and the Airport Authority seems to have become the norm. All of this raises questions about how Avelo Airlines and their operations at Tweed, feels, especially considering their newly formed relationship with the Connecticut Airport Authority at Bradley.

One has to be concerned for the neighborhoods in New Haven that are already bearing the brunt of the current setup. Based on the limited information available to us, there seems to be no end in sight for those affected residents. We are also closely monitoring the increased car and truck traffic on our roadways in East Haven.

Our legal team and expert advisors have consistently questioned the direction, planning, and overall feasibility of this project. The Town of East Haven remains fully committed to holding AVports and Tweed accountable at every stage. We will continue to protect the rights and quality of life for the residents of East Haven.

Low-cost airline Breeze Airways announced Tuesday that it would now be flying out of Tweed New Haven Airport starting Dec. 10, with five times weekly nonstop flights to Fort Myers, and then, on Dec. 11, to Orlando and West Palm Beach.

Breeze also announced plans to expand its base of operations at Bradley International Airport in Hartford to include HVN while continuing to grow its service from BDL, including international service, in the coming months. The carrier, which is in the final stages of securing the necessary certification to begin flying internationally, intends to begin selling service to international destinations before the end of the year.