Stratford seeks to buy Sikorsky Memorial Airport

Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick and State Senator Kevin Kelly are calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim to prevent the Connecticut Airport Authority from taking control of Sikorsky Memorial Airport without undergoing a competitive bidding process.

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 is owned by the City of Bridgeport but located in neighboring Stratford. The facility has been operating at a loss for years, and various attempts to bring back commercial flights to the airport have come to naught.

“If the City of Bridgeport is interested in selling the airport, then it is time for the Town of Stratford to take ownership of Sikorsky Memorial Airport,” said Hoydick in a press statement. “We will ensure capable management commensurate with the concerns of the region and the surrounding community, and the sensitive environmental assets located there.”

“Stratford must have a fair opportunity to acquire the airport in a transparent and open process,” Kelly added, noting the facility”™s location within the town. “The facility must not fall subject to a no bid state takeover.”

Neither Lamont nor Ganim publicly commented on the request from Hoydick and Kelly. The new interest in the airport comes as Tweed New Haven Airport, located roughly a half-hour from Sikorsky, is enjoying a new burst of activity through the arrival of Avelo Airlines, which is connecting the shoreline region with multiple destinations around the country.