Gov. Dannel Malloy officially created the Connecticut Airport Authority on Wednesday to oversee Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and immediately held court with several businesses on how they could capitalize on the new organization.
The airport authority is a quasi-public organization set up o make decisions regarding the state’s six airports quicker and with a more business-oriented focus.
The administration of the airports, particularly Bradley, was run previously by the state Department of Transportation, and major decision making often took excess amounts of time, hindering the airports’ ability to respond to market conditions.
The Connecticut General Assembly passed the law creating the authority in June, and Malloy supported the concept in his campaign for governor; so the law signing on Wednesday was little more than a ceremony.
After the signing, Malloy and Catherine Smith, commissioner of the Department of Economic & Community Development, held a roundtable meeting with representatives of businesses surrounding the airport, discussing how the new authority will spur economic development.
