Tweed back in business after flooding forces temporary halt to commercial travel

New Haven Register (CT)

Jul. 24--NEW HAVEN -- The immediate cleanup of the Tweed New Haven Regional Airport terminal was completed Tuesday following heavy rains and flooding Monday night that inundated it with several inches of water, Tweed Authority Interim Executive Director Matt Hoey said Tuesday afternoon.

American Eagle flights to Philadelphia resumed at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Hoey said.

"Thanks to the timely response by airport personnel and ARS Restoration Specialists, the terminal building was reopened to the public this morning ... at approximately 10 a.m.," said Airport Manager Jeremy Nielson.

"Since that time ... American Airlines and the TSA have completed their own site assessments and have indicated they are ready to return to normal operations. ... The airport encourages all passengers to check with their air carrier to obtain the most up-to-date flight status information. Customers can refer to the airport's website at http://www.flytweed.com."

Monday's heavy rains overwhelmed storm drains in the area, causing several inches of flooding inside the airport's terminal and on the tarmac. Tweed's commercial side was temporarily closed and flights prior to 5:45 p.m. were canceled.

The general aviation side of the airport, located on the East Haven side, was not affected by the heavy rains and remained open, an employee of Robinson Aviation said.

"American Airlines lost a computer or two, but they're up and running," Hoey, also first selectman of Guilford, said by phone from Cape Cod, where he has been dealing with the aftermath of the flooding while on vacation.

"ARS (Flood & Fire Clean-up) has done a terrific job drying the facility out," Hoey said. "It's all done now but we possibly have some remediation issues because the walls got wet."

"TSA is up and functional," Hoey said. "There was an issue with one of the bag screening machines. However, that's been resolved ... and new equipment will be in place tonight."

Carpeting will have to be replaced in the terminal, but "we think all our systems are OK," Hoey said earlier.

Hoey hired ARS, a flood restoration specialist, to help remove the water and get the terminal back up and running. He said he will be in touch with the airport's insurance company but expects at the very least to have to replace carpet tiles.

"There were several inches of water in the main terminal area," Hoey said. "Apparently the storm drains were overwhelmed, which suggests that as a part of our master plan, we'll have to look at storm drain improvement."

Tweed New Haven Regional Airport straddles the New Haven-East Haven border and is located in both communities. It is located in a low-lying coastal salt marsh area adjoining Morris Creek, Tuttle Brook and tidal wetlands.

City Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana said late Monday night that approximately 1.8 inches of rain fell in a two-hour period, causing "flash flooding conditions."

A video posted on Facebook showed several inches of water inside the terminal at one point.

Fontana said the security screening, ticketing, departure and arrival areas all flooded during the storm.

Late Monday, two American Eagle regional jets were parked on a tarmac outside the terminal. which appeared from the outside to still have up to an inch of water in places.

Airport Manager Jeremy Nielson also was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

Tweed, which won a major victory July 9 when a federal appeals court ruled in its favor in a longstanding lawsuit seeking to strike down the state statute limiting Tweed's main runway length to 5,600 feet.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous opinion, ruled that the state statute limiting the length of the runway is preempted by federal law and is therefore invalid.

Tweed officals and Mayor Toni Harp want to pave a portion of the 1,000-foot, unpaved runway safety areas to allow commercial airplanes to use a portion of the federally-mandated safety areas for takeoffs, making Tweed more attractive for use by a wider variety of aircraft.

But two powerful members of the General Assembly, state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Minority Leader Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven -- who both live and/or own property in the neighborhood -- have urged Attorney General William Tong to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Opponents of airport expansion and environmental advocates have suggested that sea level rise related to climate change is likely to increase the likelihood of flooding in the years to come -- and have argued that that is a reason not to seek to expand Tweed or the service it provides.

Tweed currently offers three American Eagle flights a day to and from Philadelphia and one each on Saturdays to and from Charlotte, N.C., as well as summertime seasonal service to Nantucket, Mass. on Southern Airways Express.

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