Longer Runway Needed At Tweed To Attract Airlines

NEW HAVEN (AP) — The Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority is proposing to extend the runway 2,000 feet to make it long enough to handle jet service from major airports.

The main runway at Tweed currently is 5,600 feet long, with an application pending for 1,000-foot runway safety zones at either end.

Authority board chairman Lawrence DeNardis said the group listed runway extension as its top priority in a policy statement because of pressure from area leaders to clearly spell out its goals

“To serve the country’s two busiest hubs, Chicago and Atlanta, regional jets need as much as 7,600 feet for takeoff,” which means the airport must “extend the amount of runway usable for takeoff by approximately 2,000 feet,” the authority said in its policy statement.

By extending the runway to restore service that shrunk from four airlines to one in the 1990s, “Tweed can achieve as much as a 15-fold increase” in economic impact, the paper says.

The authority’s other priorities are to build 1,000-foot safety areas at either end of the runway, cut trees that obstruct approaches, soundproof neighboring homes, buy some homes, and complete a master plan update calling for moderate growth.

“Tweed can achieve as much as a 15-fold increase” in economic impact, the paper says. “These benefits can be secured not by making Tweed into an airport like Bradley, but by enabling Tweed to accommodate about 30 flights a day, a level consistent with recent experience.”

The compact runway has made it difficult for airlines to fly profitably from Tweed because to clear obstructions and have enough fuel to reach distant destinations, they must carry less than a full passenger load.