Bridgeport and CT Airport Authority plans new pact to upgrade Sikorsky Memorial Airport

The city of Bridgeport and the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) have announced plans to upgrade Sikorsky Memorial Airport with the goal of attracting commercial flights to the facility.

sikorsky airport bridgeport aviation — Sikorsky Memorial Airport”™s air controller tower, still bearing the Bridgeport Municipal Airport name that the facility used from 1937 to 1972. Photo by Phil Hall

The airport recently received a $7 million infusion from the State Bond Commission that will be allocated for the pavement rehabilitation on Runway 11-29. In a joint announcement, the city and the CAA stated that “construction will soon begin to undertake necessary capital projects that allow for the development of commercial flights at Sikorsky Airport,” although no specific details were provided on what this would involve.

The city and the CAA added they were in the midst of “ongoing discussions regarding an expanded partnership to develop and operate the airport.”

The airport, which is owned by the city but based in neighboring Stratford, has been operating at an annual loss of approximately $500,000 per year. Mayor Joe Ganim”™s administration made overtures to the CAA in 2016 to acquire Sikorsky ”“ Ganim also sought a CAA acquisition in the 1990s during his initial tenure as mayor ”“ but to date the authority has resisted the opportunity to buy the money-losing airport.

“Sikorsky Airport is an important component of the state”™s transportation system, and these initial projects are a key step towards reaching the airport”™s full potential,” said CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon. “Commercial service is within reach at Sikorsky Airport, and the CAA is pleased to continue coordinating with the City of Bridgeport to ensure that the state has the most efficient, cohesive aviation system possible.”

Commercial air flights ceased operating at the airport in 1999, and the facility does not have a terminal that could accommodate new carriers. In June 2019, a draft of a working paper created by CHA Consulting Inc., an Albany firm contracted to prepare the master plan update for the airport, noted Sikorsky”™s size would probably best accommodate smaller aircraft serving regional flights to Northeast markets.

“If something like this could happen at Bridgeport again, we would probably see 5,000 to 6,000 operations a year,” said Paul O. McDonnell, market segment vice president for aviation at CHA Consulting Inc., at the time of the white paper draft”™s release. “We don”™t expect it to be ever more than 10% of the activity level you experience at the airport.”

Also complicating matters is the revitalization of Tweed New Haven Airport, located roughly a half-hour from Sikorsky. Startup Avelo Airlines began commercial service from Tweed to six Florida destinations earlier this month, and the airport is planning a runway expansion to accommodate additional commercial carriers.

Sean Scanlon, executive director of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, did not view Sikorsky as a rival.

“We”™re really competing against New York more than anything else here because that”™s where most of our passengers go to fly,” he said. “But I think Sikorsky is really, really far away from commercial service. They have a short runway and they don”™t even have a terminal. I think our success here will probably limit their ability to have that happen anytime soon.

“But if it does, I”™m happy for them,” he added. “And I”™m happy for the people of Connecticut because I think the more choices we can give the people of the state for air travel, the better.”