Bradley International Airport is seen as a major economic driver for central Connecticut and leading it is Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA).
While COVID-19 devastated air travel for more than a year and continues to hamper the airline industry, Bradley has been able to hold its own, actually adding more routes than were grounded during the last few years.
Breeze Airways recently announced plans to set up an operations hub at Bradley and add eight nonstop flights, a move expected to create more than 200 jobs in the state.
In recent months low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines announced plans to begin flying direct routes linking Bradley International Airport to Cancun, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, while Spirit Airlines launched nonstop service from Bradley to Miami.
“Throughout the pandemic we have continued to maintain our competitive position,” Dillon told HBJ in October. “We are very active, we’re constantly talking to carriers to try to convince them to put additional seats into the market.”
In addition to Bradley, Dillon oversees five other state-owned general aviation airports, including Brainard in Hartford. Dillon has been outspoken about the value provided by Brainard, as some Hartford city officials, including Mayor Luke Bronin, push to close that airport and open up the land for redevelopment.
Dillon has led the CAA since 2012. Prior to that he was the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corp.