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April 9, 2024

Dillon announces retirement from airport authority

HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon stands outside Bradley International Airport as a plane pulls in.
By Skyler Frazer

After almost 50 years in the aviation industry and the last dozen as the state’s top airport official, Kevin A. Dillon is retiring as executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) early next year.

Dillon and the airport authority announced this morning his retirement is set for January 2025, and the CAA Board of Directors will identify a successor for the role in the coming months.

“Together, we have achieved significant milestones for Bradley International Airport and our general aviation airports. As my tenure with the CAA winds down, I want to thank the CAA Board of Directors and my team for their hard work over the years,” Dillon said in a statement. “I have every confidence that the organization’s success will continue into the future. Leading an organization in this community has been a privilege, and I also want to express my sincere thanks to our local leaders and partners.”

Dillon was appointed as the CAA’s first executive director in 2012, helping transition Bradley International Airport and five other state airports from the Connecticut Department of Transportation to the newly established quasi-public agency the following year.

More recently, Bradley Airport has seen consecutive years of passenger growth as transatlantic and West Coast services expand and more low-cost carriers grow at the local airport: the CAA said there’s been a more than 35% increase in nonstop flight destinations during Dillon’s time at the agency.

“As a direct result of his efforts, the CAA has experienced sustained nonstop route growth at Bradley International Airport, been recognized with national awards, and completed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of capital projects across our entire airport system,” CAA Board of Directors Chair Tony Sheridan said. “It is not an overstatement to say that Connecticut’s air travelers, tourism industry, and overall economy are better off due to Kevin’s tenure at the CAA, and we will all be sad to see him go. We wish him well in his retirement, and we look forward to continuing our work together for the remaining months.”

Airport officials praised Dillon’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted air travel for a period of time.

In 2023, Bradley Airport reported 6.24 million passengers, up 7.8% from 2022. That was the highest number of passengers since the 2020 pandemic. However, that total was still 7.5% below 2019’s passenger totals of 6.75 million.

In 2023, Bradley had 6.13 million domestic flight passengers, 107,686 international passengers, and nearly 2,000 passengers who took charter flights.

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