Kevin Dillon, Connecticut Airport Authority

As one of New England’s largest airports which contributes $4 billion in economic activity to the state and the surrounding region, Bradley International Airport is a critical aspect of Connecticut’s economic development efforts. After a productive 2015, Bradley International Airport has the region primed for further development.

A healthy route structure is paramount for an airport’s success, and Bradley International Airport took a major leap forward when the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) announced new daily nonstop Aer Lingus service to Dublin, Ireland beginning in September 2016. The reestablishment of transatlantic service at Bradley Airport was one of the CAA’s top goals, and it will have a far-reaching impact. The new route provides regional travelers with easy access to not only Dublin, but also to 14 connecting destinations in Great Britain and 12 major destinations in Europe, including Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Warsaw, and Brussels. It will also provide convenient connectivity for international travelers looking to explore the many tourism offerings in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

The benefits of the new Dublin service are even clearer for the regional business community. No longer will international business travel require wasted time and resources on long, unpredictable, and anxiety-laden treks to Boston or New York. The State’s international business recruitment efforts are also sure to receive a boost from this development, as parent companies can now be assured easy access to and from their future Connecticut subsidiaries.

Perhaps most important, and most often overlooked, is the advantage of Customs and Border Protection preclearance at Dublin Airport. This means that travelers using the service will be able to easily clear Customs in Dublin while waiting for their Bradley-bound flights to depart, allowing them to simply walk from the gate to their cars like a domestic traveler after landing at Bradley Airport. Any traveler who has tried to navigate Customs at JFK or Logan will tell you the significance of this preclearance service. As one of the only non-North American airports offering preclearance, Dublin Airport is an ideal partner for Bradley, and it is an easy choice for Connecticut’s international travelers.

Aside from route development, the CAA has undertaken an aggressive capital development program to develop and maintain best-in-class infrastructure. From the demolition of the aging Terminal B building to the plans for a new ground transportation center, the CAA is working to modernize its facilities and pave the way for regional development. The future ground transportation center is particularly promising in this regard. The new facility will feature a public parking component, and it will also consolidate all of the airport’s rental car operations in one building with enclosed access to the terminal. This will open large, developable tracts of land on Schoephoester Road where the rental car companies currently operate. The ground transportation center will also be the base for high-frequency bus service connecting Bradley Airport to the Windsor Locks train station, and it will hold the potential for future light rail connectivity that would help tie the entire region together.

Finally, the CAA has continued to work with the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the Bradley Development League, the MetroHartford Alliance, and various other business and municipal stakeholders to spur development. The CAA has worked with the DECD to promote the airport development zone program, which offers a variety of tax incentives to manufacturers and certain other types of companies that build new facilities, expand or renovate existing facilities, or begin operations out of previously idle facilities in the towns surrounding Bradley Airport and Waterbury-Oxford Airport. The CAA has also taken an active role in business recruitment efforts to raise awareness about the benefits of operating in the vicinity of Bradley International Airport.

It was an exciting year of progress for the CAA, and the advances at the airport will certainly drive further interest in the surrounding areas. As Bradley International Airport continues to grow and thrive in 2016, the CAA looks forward to stimulating and supporting development efforts and economic growth in Connecticut and the region.

Kevin Dillon, A.A.E., is the executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, Windsor Locks, Conn.