Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has talked up the expansion of service at Tweed-New Haven Airport which will include direct flights to Puerto Rico this fall.
But some of the airport’s neighbors worry about increased noise and air pollution.
Avelo Airlines will launch its twice weekly flights from New Haven to San Juan, Puerto Rico on Nov. 15.
The flights would boost the local economy, Lamont said at a ceremony on the Tweed-New Haven airport apron.
“We have some of the lowest airfares not only in the region but in the country right here,” Lamont said. “A lot of that is thanks to Avelo and some of the other discount airlines that are making Connecticut their home.”
The new service will make it easier to travel and make it easier for people to come visit Connecticut.
Outside the airport, some neighborhood residents complained about the expansion of service.
“The planes fly right over Fair Haven, they fly over the city and they are known carcinogens, they are known endocrine disruptors,” said resident of Fair Haven Gabriella Campos.
"It’s things that our community specifically has a high incidence of, people of color and Latinos, we have a high incidence of heart health issues and asthma,” Campos added.
The protestors disagree with a recent environmental assessment by a national aviation consulting firm that found that extending Tweed’s runway and building a new terminal would improve the airport's impact on the environment.
