Bridgeport plans for Sikorsky airport’s post- pandemic future
BRIDGEPORT — “We’re the second busiest airport in Connecticut,” said Michelle Muoio.
Muoio, who manages the Bridgeport- owned, Stratford- based Sikorsky Memorial Airport, made that claim while briefing members of Bridgeport’s City Council last week on how the facility has been weathering the COVID- 19 pandemic and its prospects for the future.
In recent years, Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration has become more and more bullish on restoring passenger service to Sikorsky, saying that there is a strong need in Fairfield County.
But Paul McDonnell, a
consultant hired by the city to help with Sikorsky’s master plan, in April 2019 expressed doubts. McDonnell noted he was not tasked by the city to do a sales analysis.
“I think ( a) developer would have to take the risk” on building the terminal and launching the passenger service, McDonnell said, adding: “I’m always a skeptic, myself.”
Muoio is more optimistic. During 2020, Sikorsky, which hosts mainly private and charter flights, had the most activity after Bradley International in Hartford, based on Federal Aviation Administration data, she said.
“Many airports saw decreases in activity this year ( during the health crisis). I think our slight increase in operations demonstrates that, despite the pandemic, there is a healthy demand for aviation in Fairfield County,” Muoio said.
Ganim’s administration has had big — if contradictory — plans for Sikorsky over the past five years.
As of 2017, City Hall was looking to sell the property , which operates at an annual $ 500,000 loss, to the state.
Two years later, Ganim and his aides reversed course and tried unsuccessfully to finalize a deal with what multiple sources had said was the owner of a well- known small commercial airline interested in a new venture to restore regular commercial passenger service to Sikorsky.
In her report to the council, Muoio presented an operation that she predicted stands on the cusp of potentially great things. She said the long- in- coming master plan was heading to the FAA for final acceptance and approval.
“And now we can do some of the real work to turn around our finances,” Muoio said.
Under FAA guidelines, if Sikorsky were operating in the black, that additional money would have to be reinvested into the facility.
There are some short term options for boosting revenues, Muoio said, noting several long- standing leases are expiring: “We have a great opportunity to really modernize them and apply current rates.”
Commercial passenger service remains a major long- term goal.
“That’s certainly very, very appealing for me trying to turn around the airport,” said Muoio, who was hired three years ago. “In addition to the revenue a commercial operator brings in, your funding levels go up significantly and you have the potential for other revenue streams such as rental cars, parking and all those types of things.”
A major obstacle has been the need to upgrade one of Sikorky’s two runways, which Muoio said “is reaching the end of its useful life.”
City officials in 2019 said the length of time it would take to improve that runway was one of the reasons Bridgeport was unable to seal any deal with the proposed new airline venture.
Councilman Ernie Newton said to Muoio, “For a period of time we heard they ( City Hall) was working to attract some big company that fell through.”
“You know, we had those initial discussions — and I can’t really divulge ( with) who,” Muoio said last week, continuing the Ganim administration's refusal to publicly name the person or group behind the commercial airline project. “There are many other airports that are operating with, I don’t want to say ‘ substandard,’ but previously grandfathered ( runway conditions). So we entered into some conversations thinking that might be possible at our airport. And as it turns out, it’s not something anybody wants ( or) is really in the best interests of airports.
“I definitely think there will be more interest from commercial operators if we can get some of these improvements done,” Muoio said.
Meanwhile the state has been holding onto $ 7 million dollars that then- Gov. Dannel Malloy committed to Sikorsky in late 2018 as he was preparing to leave office. The funds were intended to build a new passenger terminal but only on the condition the amount was matched with private money from a carrier.
In February 2020, just before the coronavirus struck Connecticut, the Ganim administration was seeking to spend some of that $ 7 million for the runway work. The state’s budget office this week said the situation remains status quo, with the $ 7 million still pending until the condition of striking a deal with an airline is met.
Another wrinkle is where Malloy’s successor, fellow Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont, stands on Sikorsky’s future. In fall 2019, Lamont's administration indicated in its proposed transportation plan that it was looking at either Bridgeport’s airport or New Haven- based Tweed for aviation expansion.
During a Feb. 3, 2020, visit to a Bridgeport nonprofit for a non- airport related matter, Lamont told Hearst Connecticut Media the process of choosing one of the two airports was continuing: “I want to make up our mind on this this year so we can get going.”
Muoio acknowledged the Sikorsky/ Tweed competition to council members last week: “The operators of both your airport and New Haven’s airport generally want the same things.”
She said she had been aware of Lamont’s involvement, but given the pandemic was “not sure where that effort stands.”
The governor’s office did not return a request for comment for this story.
Should plans to bring back passenger service to Sikorsky fall through, Muoio said there were still opportunities to maximize the airport’s current breadand- butter corporate and private aviation operations and hangar rentals.
Muoio said she expected more charter flights might also be in the future.
“Just like you don’t really hail a taxi anymore, you get an Uber,” Muoio said. “Similar changes are taking place in the ( airline) industry. We’ll see how that happens. And when private, on- demand flying becomes cheaper and more readily available, maybe that’s where we’ll find our niche is.”
In the meantime, Muoio acknowledged she will have to keep working to convince Bridgeport’s elected leaders and taxpayers why continuing to hold onto an airport that loses $ 500,000 each year is still a worthwhile investment.
Sikorksy became even more of a drain on the municipal budget last year after the council in December approved spending an additional $ 560,000 out of contingency to repair vandalism to a pricey safety feature on the second runway that was completed in 2016.
“There’s a lot of good that comes with an airport but they’re very expensive and it’s generally a very specific subset of folks in a given municipality that are benefiting,” Muoio said to council members last week. “It’s something many operators struggle with.”