Bradley Airport in holding pattern with reduced passenger counts

Photo | Contributed Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

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By Sean Teehan

Bradley International Airport is in a holding pattern with international flights grounded and passenger traffic significantly down, but the airport's overseer says its finances remain on track.

While passenger traffic has fallen as much as 90% on a given day recently, and Bradley's two international airliners -- Aer Lingus and Air Canada -- have suspended flights amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Windsor Locks-based airport has built up reserves that can weather this period, said Kevin Dillon, executive director of the quasi-public Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees Bradley.

"Situations like this are the very reason why you look at building a healthy reserve," Dillon said. "We have more than a year and a half worth of reserves to cover operating expenses.”

Exactly how much revenues have dropped off due to COVID-19-related issues won't be clear until about a month and a half from now, Dillon said.

CAA is holding a special teleconference meeting Friday during which they will discuss COVID-19, among other topics.

Meantime, Bradley's cargo business has seen very little disruption, Dillon said. The airport's cargo business has grown significantly in recent years, especially with Pinnacle Logistics, which ships packages for Amazon, moving into the airport in 2018.

"Amazon continues to have a fair amount of activity," Dillon said.

Cargo volume at Bradley spiked by 24.5% in 2019 to 367 pounds of materials shipped.

Bradley, which receives rental and landing fees from freight carriers operating on its grounds, recorded $9.2 million in cargo-related revenue in 2018. By comparison, it earned only $2.9 million in fiscal 2017, which ran from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

Sit-down restaurants are currently closed at the airport, Dillon said, but takeout concessions are still available. While Dillon considered asking the state for a waiver to allow the airport to open its sit-down eateries, he's put that on ice for now, since the concessions Bradley has open are enough to serve the customers it currently has.

Dillon is unsure how the COVID-19-related dropoff in business might affect the airport’s $210-million ground transportation center project, which broke ground last July.

"We're certainly looking at that and making some evaluations," Dillon said.