Tweed New Haven Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport
IATA: HVN ICAO: KHVN FAA LID: HVN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of New Haven
Operator	Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport Authority
Serves	New Haven, Connecticut
Location	New Haven County
Opened	August 29, 1931 (93 years ago) (1931-08-29)
Elevation AMSL	12 ft / 4 m
Coordinates	41°15′50″N 072°53′12″W / 41.26389°N 72.88667°W / 41.26389; -72.88667
Map
FAA airport diagram
Runway
Runway Length Surface ft m 2/20 5,600 1,707 Asphalt
Statistics (12 months ending August 2022 except where noted)
Passenger volume 459,000 Departing passengers 372,000 Aircraft operations (2021) 36,029 Based aircraft (2022) 63
Sources: FAA, BTS

The Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport (IATA: HVN, ICAO: KHVN, FAA LID: HVN) is a public airport in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is located about three miles southeast of downtown New Haven. The airport is partly in New Haven and partly in East Haven. The City of New Haven owns the airport.

Tweed is one of two airports in Connecticut that offers regular flights for passengers. The other is Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sees Tweed as an important airport for commercial flights.

Airport History: How It Started and Grew

Early Days of Flight at Tweed Airport

Work on the airport began on November 11, 1929. It officially opened on August 29, 1931. Back then, it was called the New Haven Municipal Airport. In 1961, it was renamed to honor John H. "Jack" Tweed. He was the airport's first manager.

The first airline to use New Haven was Li-Con Airways, Inc. They started flights on November 10, 1933. They carried both people and mail until July 1934. In late 1934, American Airlines began flying to New Haven. It was a stop on their flights between New York and Boston. American Airlines continued this service until 1960.

After American Airlines, Allegheny Airlines and Allegheny Commuter took over. Allegheny used British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets in the 1970s. Eastern Airlines also flew from Tweed starting in 1948. They left in 1970 but returned briefly from 1972 to 1974. They used Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets for flights to cities like Baltimore and Washington.

Airlines in the 1970s and 1980s

In 1978, a local company called New Haven Airways started flights. It became NewAir in 1980. NewAir flew to airports in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. They used planes like the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter. NewAir stopped all flights in 1985.

Another airline, Pilgrim Airlines, also flew from Tweed. They went to New York, Boston, and Washington. Pilgrim Airlines used planes like the Fokker F27. In the mid-1980s, Pilgrim Airlines and NewAir merged. Then, Business Express Airlines bought them. Business Express later partnered with Delta Air Lines as a "Delta Connection" airline.

In 1987, Provincetown-Boston Airlines (PBA) began flights to New Haven. PBA flew as Continental Express to Newark, New Jersey. USAir Express also flew to cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. They used planes like the Shorts 360.

Jet flights to Chicago O'Hare Airport started in 1985–86. Air Wisconsin flew these as "United Express" for United Airlines. From 1991 to 1996, United Airlines itself flew Boeing 737-300 and 737-500 jets nonstop to O'Hare.

Other smaller airlines also served New Haven over the years. These included Ocean Airlines, Astec Air East, and Northwest Airlink.

Changes in the 1990s and 2000s

By the late 1990s, fewer airlines were flying to Tweed. Business Express stopped its service. Continental Express flights also ended in 1997.

In 2004, Comair (Delta Connection) started flights to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. They used CRJ-200 planes. But they stopped flying from Tweed in January 2006.

Pan Am Clipper Connection offered flights in 2007 to places like Baltimore. They used smaller 19-seat planes. This service also ended in July 2007.

This left US Airways Express as the only airline at Tweed. In 2015, US Airways Express became American Eagle. American Eagle was the only airline flying from New Haven year-round for a while. They flew to Philadelphia and later to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. However, American Eagle stopped service to Tweed on September 30, 2021.

Today, AFCO AvPorts manages the airport. Public buses on Connecticut Transit's 206 route can take you to the airport.

A New Chapter with Avelo Airlines

On May 6, 2021, Avelo Airlines announced exciting news. This new low-cost airline chose Tweed as its first East Coast base! Avelo Airlines uses Boeing 737-700 aircraft. They started flights from Tweed on November 3, 2021. Their first routes were to Florida cities like Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Soon after, they added more destinations. By early 2023, Avelo was flying to 14 cities. This has brought many more passengers to Tweed Airport.

Airport Facilities and Aircraft

All non-airline traffic at New Haven is handled by Robinson Aviation. Shoreline Aviation's maintenance base and seaplane service is also located on Tweed's east ramp.

Tweed-New Haven Airport covers 394 acres (about 159 hectares). It is 12 feet (4 meters) above sea level. The airport has one asphalt runway: Runway 2/20. It is 5,600 feet (1,707 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide. There used to be another runway, but it was closed in 2015.

In the year ending May 31, 2021, the airport had about 36,029 aircraft movements. This means planes took off or landed about 99 times each day. Most of these were general aviation flights (92%). These are private planes, not commercial airlines. In November 2022, 63 aircraft were based at the airport. Most were single-engine planes, but there were also some jets.

View of East Ramp during visit of Boeing 737-700 Business Jet

Robinson Aviation, Inc. handles general aviation at the airport. They offer services like plane maintenance and flight training. They also help with fueling and ground services for planes. General aviation makes up most of the airport's traffic. This includes corporate jets, charter flights, and private planes.

The Connecticut Wing Civil Air Patrol 73rd Minuteman Squadron also operates from this airport.

Future Plans and Challenges

Discussions About Airport Expansion

The future of Tweed Airport has been a topic of debate. The City of New Haven wants to make the runway longer. This would allow more airlines to fly there and bring larger planes. However, some local residents have been against this idea. They worry about the impact on the environment and the health of people in New Haven and East Haven.

In 2002, the FAA and the State of Connecticut approved plans to make the main runway longer. They also approved adding safety areas at the ends of the runway. The City of New Haven gave permission for this work. But officials in East Haven voted against it. The Airport Authority and New Haven then sued East Haven to allow the work. They won the lawsuit.

HVN with New Haven in the background in June, 2019

Since then, the airport has completed the $25 million safety overruns. These are paved areas at the end of the runway to help stop planes safely.

In 2009, New Haven and East Haven reached an agreement. They decided to keep the main runway at 5,600 feet (1,707 meters). They also agreed to limit flights to 30 departures per day. The number of passengers boarding planes would be capped at 180,000 per year.

However, in 2014, the airport still hoped to make the runway longer. They asked for federal money to do this. They also asked for more state funds to pave the runway safety areas. These requests were not approved. New Haven's Mayor Toni Harp and Rep. Rosa DeLauro supported making the runway longer.

Some local residents strongly opposed the expansion. They formed a group to fight against it. East Haven voters and Mayor Joseph Maturo also continued to oppose the plans.

In 2015, the Airport Authority decided to sue the State of Connecticut. They argued that a state law limiting the runway length was unfair. Tim Larson, a former director, said that airlines needed a longer runway to come to Tweed. He worried that American Airlines might stop service if the runway wasn't lengthened.

In July 2019, a court ruled in favor of Tweed Airport. The court said that the state law limiting the runway length was not valid. In December 2019, the Connecticut Attorney General appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, on March 23, 2020, the Supreme Court chose not to hear the appeal. This meant the state could no longer stop the airport from expanding its runway.

With the arrival of Avelo Airlines in 2021, plans for expansion moved forward. Avports announced they would build a new terminal on the East Haven side of the airport. They also planned to expand the runway length. This expansion helped Avelo Airlines grow its service from Tweed.

Airlines and Destinations

Airport Statistics

Passenger Numbers at HVN

Most Popular Destinations from HVN

Busiest domestic routes from HVN (April 2022 - March 2023)

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	Orlando, Florida	94,000	Avelo
2	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	48,000	Avelo
3	West Palm Beach, Florida	45,000	Avelo
4	Fort Myers, Florida	43,000	Avelo
5	Tampa, Florida	43,000	Avelo
6	Sarasota, Florida	29,000	Avelo
7	Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina	22,000	Avelo
8	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	20,000	Avelo
9	Nashville, Tennessee	20,000	Avelo
10	Charleston, South Carolina	14,000	Avelo

Airport Safety and Incidents

Airports work hard to keep everyone safe. Sometimes, however, incidents can happen. When they do, experts investigate to learn what happened and prevent it from happening again.

• On June 7, 1971, an Allegheny Airlines plane crashed near the runway. Sadly, many people on board passed away. The cause was found to be pilot error.
• On August 9, 2013, a small plane crashed into two houses in East Haven while trying to land. This tragic event resulted in the deaths of the two people on the plane and two children in one of the homes.
• On February 22, 2017, a small training plane crashed in a swamp. The student pilot died, and the instructor was seriously hurt. An investigation found a faulty fuel part and an error by the flight instructor contributed to the crash.
• On June 30, 2022, a small plane had engine trouble and landed in the Quinnipiac River. The two people and a dog on board were rescued safely by nearby boaters.

Images for kids

• 

  Tweed New Haven Logo

• 

  New Haven Airport

• 

  FAA airport diagram