Tweed New Haven Airport Get $11 Million for Improvements

Jun. 28—NEW HAVEN — Millions of dollars in state funding, including at least $1 million to mitigate noise from planes taking off and landing at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport, is headed for the airport as a result of legislation approved during the recent state legislative session.

About $11 million was approved for the airport during the flurry of activity that came as the session came to an end on June 4, according to state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D- New Haven, and Tweed New Haven Airport Authority Chairman Robert Reed.

The airport will get $10 million for as-yet-unspecified airport improvements, which also could include work outside the airport in New Haven or East Haven.

Looney, who lives near the airport in New Haven, said he worked to secure the funds with other members of the New Haven delegation, including state Rep. Al Paolillo Jr., D- New Haven, whose district also includes Tweed.

"We put $10 million in the bond act for mitigation at Tweed for traffic, sound issues, environmental and wetland issues," said Looney said.

These funds are expected to come to the airport via the Department of Economic and Community Development, but must first be approved by the State Bond Commission, Looney said.

Reed told the authority in a recent meeting that while ultimate disposition of the $10 million has not yet been defined, it is "for improvements and alterations at the airport, as well airport-related improvements in neighboring communities.

The $1 million or so to address the noise at the airport is coming via the Connecticut Airport Authority. These funds are derived from the state's tax on jet fuels, Looney said. Avelo Airlines, one of the two airlines that serve Tweed, is exempt from the fuel tax, but that exemption expires July 1, officials said.

"For years, there's been discussion of a broad-based, comprehensive mitigation plan for the neighborhoods around Tweed, and it's never really happened," Looney said.

The money for noise mitigation will be distributed according to the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, Looney said.

"With the potential for funding in the bond package that makes Tweed eligible for airport improvements, Sen. Looney and I did feel it was important to also have $1 million set aside from the airplane fuel tax to make sure funding is also there to address resident concerns," said Paolillo. "This includes sources of funding for environmental, traffic, parking, noise, health concerns, and quality of life issues that our residents face daily."

Paolillo said that any future plans about the airport's improvements should get community input and address any impacts on residents. He added they should also be transparent.

"This includes our office recently reaching out to the airport regarding the updated traffic plan, the Resident Sound Insulation Program, and other concerns," Paolillo said.

Officials in East Haven, which borders the airport, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora has said he opposes Tweed's application to expand the airport within its current boundaries.

Tweed is waiting for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to rule on its environmental application for a proposed expansion of the airport, which would include a runway extension and a new 81,568-square-foot terminal on the East Haven side.

The terminal would include four formal gates and a total of six "boarding positions."

The proposed expansion would include expanding Tweed's one remaining runway from the current 5,600 feet to 6,575 feet — extending it 639 feet to the south and 336 feet to the north, for a total of 975 feet in additional length, according to Tweed's plans.

The DEEP filing by the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority and The New HVN LLC, the subsidiary of Avports LLC that manages the airport, came 16 months after the Federal Aviation Administration approved Tweed's plan, issuing a "Finding of No Significant Impact" on Dec. 21, 2023.

East Haven and Save The Sound appealed the FAA approval, calling for a full-blown environmental impact statement — something that Looney and other legislators also would like to see.

Other infrastructure improvements in the plan include 4,000 additional parking spaces, new asphalt aircraft aprons and new service roads to serve the terminal, which would be built on what currently is part of the area that once was used for Tweed's former cross-wind runway.

The airport's new access road would come in from Proto Drive, off Coe Avenue in East Haven. Vehicles come from Interstate 95 would approach the airport on Hemingway Avenue in East Haven.

Tweed also recently announced it will distribute 815 air purifiers to nearby residents in both New Haven and East Haven for free as part of a new residential indoor air program in response to community concerns, airport officials said.

© 2025 the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.). Visit www.nhregister.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.