Bradley International Airport nears completion of $250M upgrade with new baggage facility, gates and dining options, while working to replace lost airline services.
Michael Shea took over as executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority in February. Contributed Photo
Bradley International Airport is nearing completion of a sweeping, $250 million infrastructure upgrade designed to improve efficiency and enhance the passenger experience, as it works to replace recently lost airline services and secure a second transatlantic route.
The work includes a new 80,000-square-foot baggage inspection facility, expanded ticketing space, upgraded security checkpoints and passenger circulation systems, along with three new airline gates that will open by the end of this year. The projects, largely funded through federal infrastructure grants, mark the airport’s largest upgrade in decades.
“We’re very focused on customer service and convenience, and I think the traveling public will see that as we unveil various components of the terminal projects,” said Michael Shea, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA), which manages Bradley and five smaller airports across the state.
Bradley’s terminal expansion adds roughly 100,000 square feet, anchored by the new baggage screening building. Checked luggage will now move by a mile-long conveyor system to the secure facility, eliminating the need for passengers to handle their own bags after check-in and freeing up ticketing hall space for additional counters and queuing — where Transportation Security Administration baggage screening stations used to reside.
Two new “vertical circulation corridors” — with updated elevators, escalators and stairways — will move arriving passengers more efficiently between gates, baggage claim and ground transportation, Shea said.
Several project components, he added, are already in use, with the remainder scheduled to open in phases by year’s end.
“Some airlines are already using the new baggage system, and we expect all carriers to be operating on it by the end of the calendar year,” said Shea, who joined the CAA as chief financial officer in 2013 and became executive director in February 2025 following the retirement of longtime leader Kevin Dillon.
The terminal expansion also includes new retail and dining options. SSP America, the airport’s main concessionaire, is investing $15 million to bring in 15 new or refurbished food and retail locations, including Urban Lodge, a brewery concept with locations in Hartford and Manchester; Sparrow Pizza of West Hartford; and Chick-fil-A. Urban Lodge is expected to open at the airport in early 2026, with the others following later next year.
The CAA secured more than $180 million in federal grants — many from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — to cover the bulk of project costs, allowing the authority to complete the work without issuing new debt.
“Not taking on new debt helps us keep airline rates and charges lower, which is always attractive to our carrier partners,” said Shea, adding that Bradley operates on a self-funded model and contributes an estimated $3.6 billion annually to the regional economy.
Airline turbulence
The improvements come amid a period of transition for Bradley, which lost Spirit Airlines as a carrier in September following the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. In November, BermudAir suspended its nonstop service between Bradley and Bermuda, while a month earlier, Avelo Airlines announced that it was exiting Bradley, canceling Connecticut’s only nonstop service to Jamaica.
Shea declined to comment on specific airline business strategies, saying CAA is “focused on the future.” However, when Avelo announced its planned departure last month, airport officials accused the carrier of trying to avoid contractual obligations after benefiting from state incentives.
The authority also disputed Avelo’s claims of weak demand for the Montego Bay route, saying the flights were typically 80% to 95% full between April and July — levels the CAA described as “very healthy” for the airline industry. Avelo carried nearly 62,000 passengers through its first seven months at Bradley, according to CAA data.
Shea said the airport authority is looking for another airline to replace Avelo’s Jamaica route, which served Connecticut’s sizable Jamaican community.
“We’ve got other carriers interested in the routes formerly served by Avelo,” Shea said.
Shea’s top priority is securing a nonstop London route — an effort backed by Hartford’s corporate heavyweights, including Cigna, Travelers, RTX and General Dynamics Electric Boat.
According to CAA, more than 250 passengers already travel between the Bradley market and London each day, via airports in New York or Boston — enough to fill at least one daily flight.
“When you factor in travelers connecting through London to other parts of Europe or India, you could fill two planes,” Shea said. “There’s definitely a compelling market case.”
To attract new carriers, Bradley offers standard incentives such as temporary landing fee and terminal rent waivers, along with marketing support — programs that are applied equally to all airlines, and which helped secure Aer Lingus’ Dublin, Ireland, service in 2016.
Other target destinations include Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego, which would complement existing service to Los Angeles, Shea said.
The airport currently has about 50 nonstop routes.
Bradley handled 6.66 million passengers in 2024, up 6.5% from the previous year. Through July 2025, passenger traffic rose 3.3% year-over-year.
Shea acknowledged there’s been a recent leveling off of passenger traffic.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a retraction — just a leveling off of growth across the country,” Shea said, citing broader economic and geopolitical factors.
Business travel, he added, has rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels, though remote work has blurred the distinction between business and leisure trips.
“Anecdotally, from conventions and trade shows, I would say business travel has definitely returned,” Shea said.
