New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Avelo Airlines surpasses 1K flights at Tweed-New Haven
NEW HAVEN —Avelo Airlines has surpassed 1,000 flights at Tweed-New Haven Airport, it announced Monday.
This milestone coincides with Avelo commemorating its first 100 days of flying from Tweed to West Palm Beach, Fla.
“I’m very encouraged by the continued momentum and enthusiasm we are seeing in Connecticut,” Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said in the release. “With the addition of popular destinations like Washington, D.C., Chicago, Nashville and Charleston, coupled with the additional flights we are adding for the busy summer travel season, our Connecticut customers have more options forgetting where they want to go than ever before.”
Avelo, Tweed’s only airline, currently flies to six destinations, all in Florida: Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers and Sarasota-Bradenton. All use Tweed’s existing terminal on the New Haven side of the airport, which straddles the East Haven border.
It will add four additional destinations — Nashville; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Savannah, Ga.-Hilton Head, S.C. — on May 6. Then on May 26 it will add flights from Tweed to Chicago’s Midway International Airport, BaltimoreWashington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
“For decades people asked for more service out of Tweed-New Haven Airport,” Airport Director Sean Scanlon said in the release. “More than 1,000 flights and more than 100,000 passengers later, we've delivered thanks to our incredible partnership with Avelo Airlines and we're just getting started.”
Tweed’s $70 million long-term plan calls to pave portions of the existing turf runway safety areas to lengthen the runway from the current 5,600 feet to 6,635 feet and build a new, 74,000-square-foot terminal on the East Haven side of the airport, while moving the airport’s entrance to the East Haven side. The new terminal and entrance would require the approval of various East Haven boards and commissions, among other things.
Neighbors and opponents of airport expansion who have been frustrated by the lack of information flowing their way will hold a “Tweed Talk” meeting Tuesday night at East Haven’s Hagaman Memorial Library from 6:30 to 8 p.m.