Tweed Sues State Over Runway Limitation: Report

Here we go again.

Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, the city of New Haven and the town of East Haven will seemingly never agree on whether the airport’s runway should be extended.

The Tweed New Haven Airport Authority agreed by a vote of 11-2 to sue the state of Connecticut over it’s law limiting the length of the runway, the New Haven Register reports.

The authority wants the runway extended by 1,000 feet, which would require paving over a safety area, which is currently prohibited by the state.

The two no votes against suing the state were from East Haven members of the authority. Both Peter Leonardi and Karen O’Connor — wife of East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr.

New Haven and East Haven have disagreed on the airport issue for some time now with East Haven not being in favor of the airport being expanded and New Haven pushing for it.

Limiting the length of the runway is illegal, said John Picard, chairman of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, the Register reports. Picard said the airport is struggling and needs an enhanced runway.

Maturo said he does not understand the action being taken by the authority.

“I just think it’s foolish to sue the state,” said Maturo via the New Haven Register.

Tim Larson, Executive Director of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, said the airport needs an expanded runway in order to attract larger commercial carriers and retain the ones it already has.

The full New Haven Register story can be read here.