Alina Rose Chen photo
At Tweed on Monday.
Jon Merwin of Miami Beach touched down at Tweed New Haven Airport after a three-hour flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Headed up to New Hampshire for a business conference, Merwin decided to fly into New Haven for a more personal reason: The airport is closer to his parents, who live in Stratford and were on their way to pick him up. “It’s just easier on them,” he said, especially with his concerns about traffic throughout Connecticut.
Merwin was one of several flyers the Independent caught up with Monday afternoon at the Morris Cove regional airport as part of an ongoing series of articles about who’s flying to and from Tweed. Monday’s flights took place as the airport continues to step towards an expansion to the East Haven side of its property — and as Tweed’s main budget airline, Avelo, is embroiled in national controversy over its decision to run deportation flights for the Trump administration.
Merwin had no complaints about his experience flying with Avelo Airlines Monday. He said his flight was smooth with no complications, and he described the flight attendants as kind and cheerful. While he’s not exactly a loyalist to any particular airline — although, he admits, he has a number of JetBlue credit cards — he’s flown with Avelo a few times before and said he’s likely to do so again.
The convenient location of Tweed was also a big draw for Morgan, who lives around 20 minutes away in Hamden. Also flying in from sunny Florida, she and her daughter — dressed in Disney sweatshirts and inspecting their new sets of pins as they waited for their checked luggage — returned from a family trip to Disney World. For the duo, their New Haven-Orlando round-trip tickets were around $200 each. “You can’t beat the cost,” Morgan said. “I also like that [Tweed] is closer than Bradley, especially traveling with a kid.”
The convenience and affordability of Tweed’s flights, however, is set off by the challenges accompanying a small local airport—a young couple arriving Monday afternoon expressed frustration after one of their checked bags went missing from their flight in from Charleston. A member of Tweed’s airport staff directed them to file a report online using a QR code posted in the baggage claim area. Flight arrival times were similarly inconsistent; many flights arrived ahead of schedule, creating bottlenecks of waiting passengers as well as long lines of idling cars waiting outside the terminal.
This comes ahead of Tweed New Haven Airport’s annual Ward 18 Community Meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Nathan Hale School. The agenda includes updates on the airport’s planned expansion project, as well as community discussion on persistent concerns including traffic, parking, noise, and air quality.
Meanwhile, Avelo, one of two commercial airlines that fly out of Tweed, has become a focal point in debates over immigration enforcement and corporate responsibility. In April, the airline signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to assist in the deportation of migrants via an airport in Mesa, Arizona. This decision has sparked significant controversy, particularly in New Haven, the airline’s Connecticut hub. In response to the backlash, the airline has defended their decision as a strategic business move meant to bolster its financial security in a time of rising competition.
“This might be the last time I fly with Avelo,” said Amber, who recently moved to New Haven and had flown in from Atlanta on Monday. “The cabin is so tight, even though I’m only 5’1” — and the airport is very small, too.”
It wasn’t only the cramped quarters that left Amber with a bad impression. She learned of Avelo’s partnership with ICE after she had already bought her ticket. She emphasized on Monday that the budget airline’s cooperation with the federal agency will strongly influence her travel plans in the future.