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August 18, 2022

Airport Authority OKs new lease with Avports as East Haven vows ‘street fight’ to stop expansion

PHOTO | FILE IMAGE Avports CEO Jorge Roberts speaks at a press conference announcing the launch of low-cost flights to Florida at New Haven’s Tweed Airport.
By Liese Klein

In the face of strong opposition from some neighbors and the East Haven mayor, the Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority approved a new lease deal with operator Avports, taking another step toward expanding airport facilities.

The vote came at the authority’s regular meeting on Wednesday following impassioned pleas to delay the decision from some nearby homeowners and politicians.

East Haven Mayor Joe Carfora, the first to speak at the public hearing prior to the vote, said, “I have said all along that I wanted to be a good neighbor. It is simply not possible given the way this lease has been handled,” Carfora said, citing concerns about traffic, noise and parking resulting from an airport expansion. He said the town this week had engaged attorneys to attempt to halt the process.

“East Haven is not afraid of a street fight,” Carfora said. 

At issue was a 43-year lease and management agreement later approved by the authority on a series of 9-4 votes. The deal allows Avports, a Virginia-based airport operator, to move forward with a $100 million expansion plan to build a new terminal on the east side of the airport, extend Tweed’s runway and make changes to address traffic and safety concerns.

Under the new lease, Avports will pay the Airport Authority $550,000 a year, with an additional $200,000 a year in oversight until the company completes its new terminal. The payments allow for the end of city and state subsidies to the airport that currently total $1.8 million per year.

Avports CEO Jorge Roberts said, “This lease agreement provides a first-of-its-kind flexibility to airport municipalities. We recognize our responsibility to ensure a sustainable airport and to expand upon Avports' track record as a leader in environmental, social, and governance principles. The future is very bright at HVN.”   

Although the lease signing unlocks $5 million in funding for noise, traffic, and environmental mitigation, some homeowners in nearby neighborhoods of New Haven and East Haven denounced the expansion. The sharp increase in Tweed flights over the last year due to the launch of Avelo Airlines’ service at the airport has already impacted quality of life, they said.

“A few people will make millions or trillions from this, while we will all suffer,” said Jean Edwards-Chieppo, who lives on Henry Street in East Haven. She and other residents spoke of increased air pollution, noise and traffic in the once-quiet area. 

Business leaders, by contrast, praised the deal and the potential for economic growth sparked by a bigger and busier Tweed. 

Garrett Sheehan, president and CEO of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, said that the local business community has cheered the success of Avelo Airlines at Tweed.

“We're excited about the jobs and investment, the economic development that they’ve brought,” Sheehan said of Avelo, which is currently operating flights to 14 destinations from New Haven. “We think that this lease agreement with Avports continues that controlled growth of the airport so that we continue to have these flights; we can move into more business opportunities that will aid economic development.”

In response to criticism that the lease deal had been rushed, Airport Authority members said that the terms had been in discussion for more than a year and members of the public have been given ample opportunity to give feedback during the process. 

Avports first announced the expansion in May 2021 and signed an agreement with Avelo to launch service at Tweed in June 2021.  The carrier’s first flight from New Haven took off on Nov. 3, 2021. 

The next step for the deal is the completion of an ongoing environmental assessment and approvals by the Federal Aviation Administration. Avports will also need various approvals from New Haven and East Haven to go forward. 

After the board voted, Tweed Executive Director Sean Scanlon said, “This is simply just another step in the road towards us building this project and giving people the service that I believe that they want, but there are many steps left to go.”

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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