At 3:45 p.m. on Sat., Apr. 6, the last United Airlines jet will leave Tweed-New Haven Airport. Earlier this year, United's announcement that it would suspend jet service to Tweed dismayed city officials, businessmen, and Yale students alike. But with the help of a new regional commission, New Haven and East Haven are looking for ways to bring the friendly skies back to Tweed.
At a news conference held at the airport on Thurs., Mar. 28, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. and East Haven Mayor Henry Luzzi announced plans to make major changes at the airport over the next several years, aimed at attracting large national carriers and regular jet service to Chicago, Florida, and other points south of Connecticut.
"If we agree as a region that developing Tweed is a top priority, then a number of very challenging and complex issues lie ahead," DeStefano said.
The first step is the hiring of Johnson Controls World Services Inc., a private airport management firm that already runs five major airports around the country. The impact of shifting management from the city to a private firm will be felt in improved service and improved cost-efficiency. "The city, in the short term, remains committed to providing the most professional management possible for the airport," DeStefano said.
However, many challenges must be faced in order to attract more airlines to the airport and improve service from New Haven to other destinations. The Regional Growth Partnership, a newly formed economic development corporation has been given the responsibility of drafting a plan that will enable the airport to attract major jet service.
The length of the runways at Tweed is a topic that will be examined carefully. To accommodate jet airplanes without any restrictions or weight limitations, runways would have to be lengthened. Unfortunately for the city, about 100 houses and several streets would have to be cleared, posing problems for residents living near Tweed.
Financing poses a major problem as well, with costs for the project coming in at an early estimate of $24 million. The Regional Growth Partnership has been given the crucial task of investigating where such funding could come from which will ultimately be the deciding factor in Tweed's future as a local airport.
While plans for the airport remain uncertain, those involved in the project are cautiously optimistic. Everett Shaw, executive director of the Regional Growth Partnership, said, "The challenge is not a question of whether we need and must have a first-class airport. It is a question of how best to achieve that level of excellence. This is an extraordinarily important task, and it's vital to the future economic health of south-central Connecticut."
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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