Tweed Airport in New Haven has been operating without a license, according to the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA).
The CAA sent Tweed a letter on Tuesday saying it would have to take action by Nov. 3 this year if Tweed hasn't submitted a license renewal application by then.
The airport authority said it could not comment further, saying this is a pending regulatory matter.
Tweed has a limited amount of passenger flights offered by Avelo Airlines. However, at the last two CAA board meetings, its executive director said Bradley Airport had lost a small chunk of its passenger traffic to Tweed.
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Tweed issued the following statement to NBC Connecticut:
“The Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority is not regulated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, but rather is clearly regulated by the FAA and has been going back decades. The Connecticut Airport Authority’s role as owner and operator of Bradley Airport preclude it from serving as a regulator to Tweed, since doing so would create a conflict of interest that could limit access to more destinations and affordable airfare for Connecticut residents. We are in contact with the state and are working to understand the Authority’s concerns regarding this administrative operating license, so that we can collectively move forward and together give Connecticut residents more air travel options than they’ve ever had before.”
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A spokesperson for Tweed said that the situation concerning the CAA’s Oct. 3 letter will have no impact whatsoever on service at Tweed.
“My understanding is that Tweed has its authority granted to operate by the Federal Aviation Authority and the FAA will allow them to continue to operate, so there’s not really an issue there,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that the executive director of the CAA has had some issues with Tweed. We should all be getting along and rowing in the same direction,” he continued.
In a September meeting, CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon said that in 2022, Tweed captured roughly 7% more of the Connecticut market than it did in 2019.
“There’s no doubt, the markets that we do share competition with Tweed, we are underperforming based on where we were pre-pandemic, so certainly a lot of their success is coming as a detriment to Bradley,” Dillon said back in September.
A spokesperson said the Tweed New Haven Authority is considering submitting an application for a license as a courtesy to work with the CAA, but maintains that the CAA does not have any regulatory oversight over Tweed.
