Volume

This includes eliminating the historical subsidies of nearly $2 million per year (or more than $30 million over the past 20-years) from the City of New Haven and the State of Connecticut to fund HVN's operation and capital projects.

Avports is also making significant investments into the airport in the form of an extended runway and a modern, environmentallyfriendly terminal, which will be built in the coming years. At the conclusion of our lease, these improved assets will revert to the full control and ownership of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority and the community it serves.

Simply put, this is a first of its kind hybrid partnership in the US between the public and private sector. The structure of this hybrid partnership is a key precedent and could provide the needed flexibility for US airports that are operating at a deficit or need to develop their infrastructure to meet the market demand.

Patience and perseverance

Getting to this point took time to develop the trust and align objectives with key stakeholders and the broader community.

We have kept an open line of communication with partners by not only having an open invitation to communicate ideas and concerns, but also proactively engaging stakeholders on a regular basis, including hosting multiple community meetings, ensuring everyone’s voice could be heard.

For example, in response to the airport’s surrounding community input, we have worked with our airline partners to limit the size of the planes as well as landing and take-off hours of operations. We also committed to investing $3.25 million in noise reduction for neighbouring residents, above and beyond existing FAA resources.

A new beginning

When Avelo arrived at HVN, it marked the first time in the last 30-years that the airport simultaneously served more than two destinations. Since then, Avelo has flown more than 600,000 customers to and from New Haven and has 180 New Haven-based crew members, for a total of 300 new direct and indirect jobs, with more jobs to come.

And with 14 non-stop destinations and growing, Avelo is now one of the leading airlines serving Connecticut.

Throughout Avelo’s growth, HVN has held numerous local job fairs to help fill positions with the airline, and also with us at Avports. The response has been tremendous from local jobseekers, showing the energy and excitement – and also the need – for the kind of promising economic development HVN is now providing for Southern Connecticut.

The future

This P3 at HVN represents a once in a generation opportunity for this region with the best yet to come.

The next major step will be lengthening the runway to a length of 6,635 feet – a number that was recommended in the airports adopted masterplan to allow existing aircraft to reach farther destinations.

Avports will also build a new, modern and environmentally sustainable passenger terminal on the east side of the airport. This facility will be carbon-neutral and follow LEED principles, reducing HVN’s carbon footprint and positioning the airport as one of the most sustainable regional airports in the world.

It will provide high efficiency climate control systems, renewable energy sources, and re-engineered waste and recycling programmes, underscoring the airport’s comprehensive and holistic approach to sustainability.

The new passenger terminal will also develop direct and indirect stable jobs, including good-paying construction jobs through a project labour agreement (PLA) with the local trades, while also generating more jobs from the economic spillover the airport will stimulate.

We’ve only just begun to bring our bold vision to life; there remains much work to be done, but our successes so far have yielded a model that can be replicated by other airports in the US and beyond.

Working closely with key stakeholders, responding to community concerns, prioritising the needs of the region, and moving forward swiftly and decisively creates results that benefit real people.