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March 24, 2023

Avelo celebrates millionth passenger at Tweed as airport expansion fight ramps up

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED An Avelo 777 takes off for the airline's inaugural flight to Orlando from Tweed New Haven Airport on Nov. 3, 2021.
By Liese Klein

Avelo Airlines marked its one millionth passenger at Tweed New Haven Airport on Friday with a media event and gifts for customers on one Florida-bound flight.

The millionth passenger was set to be on a flight to Fort Myers departing at 2:25 p.m. from the airport, which has served as one of Avelo’s East Coast hubs since November 2021. 

Avelo CEO Andrew Levy and New Haven and state lawmakers were scheduled to be at Tweed on Friday to present a gift to each of the 179 passengers on the flight. Fort Myers is one of 15 destinations now served by Avelo from Tweed. 

Even as the airline celebrated its milestone, airport officials were girding for a key vote over expanding Tweed’s facilities to meet growing demand. Avelo flew 600,000 passengers in its first year at Tweed, representing a 1,400% increase over the airport’s pre-pandemic passenger numbers in 2019. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a draft environmental report earlier this month endorsing a $100 million plan by airport operator Avports to extend the runway and build a new terminal on the East Haven side of the facility. The report found minimal additional impact from the expansion and even predicted less noise and pollution if the airport started serving larger planes.

Earlier this week, the FAA extended the comment period on the draft report to 60 days from 45 days. Those wishing to comment now have until May 1 to register their opinions. The airport is also taking part in an event in East Haven on April 1 to address community concerns.

The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce issued a plea on Friday asking businesses to support the expansion and submit comments as part of the FAA process.

In an e-mailed message from CEO Garrett Sheehan, the chamber stressed the economic impact of Tweed and the importance of expanding the airport to meet demand. 

“Our goal is to assist Tweed in getting this cutting-edge project started as soon as possible,” Sheehan said in his statement. “The airport’s expansion will have a positive, enduring impact on the overall regional economy.”

Opponents of the expansion cite environmental concerns and the impact of traffic, noise and air pollution on surrounding neighborhoods. Vocal opponents have slowed several recent efforts by Tweed to expand parking on its property and vow to continue fighting the expansion.

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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