Legislation Would Transfer Airport From Bridgeport To State
The future of Sikorsky Memorial Airport is up for debate in the General Assembly with legislation that would transfer operation of the airport from Bridgeport to the state.
Backers of the bill say the state has the money to make the Stratford airport more competitive with other airports and spark economic development in the Stratford-Bridgeport area.
Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi said the state "simply has more resources" than Bridgeport, which has owned the airport for 60 years. The state also has experience operating airports in Connecticut, he said.
"The airport would benefit the entire region under the auspices of the state of Connecticut," he said. "Stratford has indicated their biases against the airport and I truly want to explore this opportunity with the state. Of course, the price has to be right."
State Rep. Robert T. Keeley Jr., D-Bridgeport, has proposed legislation that would turn the airport over to the state to operate like a smaller version of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Sikorsky is a $1.5 million-a-year operation.
House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, says he favors the proposal, and Sen. Bill Finch, D-Bridgeport, vice chairman of the General Assembly's Transportation Committee, said a state takeover is "long overdue."
"It's the only way we're going to get any objective, long-range plan for the airport," he said. "It shouldn't be a landing field for private airplanes with a few corporate jets, it should be maximized to its full potential."
Longtime opponents of an airport expansion say the project would not help Stratford. Mayor James Miron opposes the legislation, calling Sikorsky a "low-demand airport."
He would rather buy the airport from Bridgeport than allow the state to take it over for expansion, he said. More than 200 acres near the water could be developed for residential, business, recreational and other uses, he said.
"I'm very, very interested in Stratford buying the airport," Miron said. "Frankly, I think Stratford controlling and owning the airport makes a lot more sense."
But airport manager John Ricci cites public works needs such as demolition of an aging building that Bridgeport cannot afford as a reason why the state would be a better operator of Sikorsky than a municipality.
And Paul S. Timpanelli, president and chief executive of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, is enthusiastic.
"If you look at any major urban regional center around the country that has been revitalized, one of the things that's always on the list is that they invest heavily in a regional airport," he said.
Supporters of the airport's transfer say the state could require longer runways that would make the facility competitive with Tweed-New Haven Airport, Westchester County Airport in New York and Oxford Airport, which has received millions of dollars from the state to expand and update.
Sikorsky's 4,800-foot runway contrasts with Westchester's 7,000-foot runway, accommodating commercial flights that ended in Bridgeport in 1999.
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