Passenger traffic at Bradley Airport grew 7.8% in 2023; busy travel period ahead

Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

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Bradley International Airport saw its passenger traffic increase nearly 8% in 2023, but the Windsor Locks airfield still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic activity levels.

Whether the airport is able to do that in 2024 could be dictated, in part, by the next few weeks.

The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) said it’s preparing for a busy period of travel at Bradley, as passengers take to the skies for April vacations.

Between April 3 to 14, it’s estimated that more than 125,000 people will depart from Bradley — with the busiest travel times between 4 a.m. to 7 a.m.

“Our list of nonstop flights has grown to more than forty destinations thanks to the eleven airlines that fly out of Bradley International Airport,” said Kevin A. Dillon, executive director of the CAA. “With so many travel options, it is no surprise that we’re expecting a large volume of individuals to fly for their spring vacations.”

The CAA recommends travelers, during this busy period, arrive at least 90 minutes before their flight.

In 2023, Bradley Airport reported 6.24 million passengers, up 7.8% from 2022. That was the highest number of passengers since the 2020 pandemic. However, that total was still 7.5% below 2019’s passenger totals of 6.75 million.

In 2023, Bradley had 6.13 million domestic flight passengers, 107,686 international passengers, and nearly 2,000 passengers who took charter flights.

Aer Lingus, which last year re-established its direct flight from Bradley to Dublin, Ireland, recorded 73,238 passengers in 2023. Breeze Airways, which has aggressively increased its number of routes at Bradley in recent years, recorded 418,890 passengers in 2023.