U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge of Court Ruling That Allows Tweed-New Haven Airport to Expand

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong of a federal appeals court decision that allows Tweed-New Haven Airport to proceed with a plan to lengthen its main runway and expand airline service.

A federal appeals court in July directed a federal magistrate judge in Hartford to reverse an earlier decision that upheld a state law that limited runway length. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the 2009 state law is preempted by federal aviation law. The Supreme Court decision not to take up Tong’s appeal leaves the appeals court decision in place.

“This is an exciting day for the airport and our region,” Tweed-New Haven Airport Executive Director Sean Scanlon said Monday. “I’ve only been on this job about four months but this is a long time coming. Every day people ask me when they’re going to be able to fly to X destination and for a long time I’ve told them it would depend on this court case. And now that that’s over, it allows us to begin the process of moving forward.”

Tweed-New Haven has long wanted to expand the main runway within its existing property lines. A longer runway would allow airlines to profitably fly larger jets in and out of Tweed. Service is now limited to smaller regional jets. The 5,600-foot runway is one of the shortest commercial airport runways in the country.

In 2002, the state and the Federal Aviation Administration approved a master plan for Tweed that included extending the main runway to 7,200 feet. The 2009 state law was passed as part of a large state budget bill — without a public hearing — as New Haven-area lawmakers said they were concerned a longer runway and more air traffic at Tweed would harm nearby residents’ quality of life and the environment.

Tong’s appeal focused on two issues: whether a political subdivision of a state may sue the state and if the Federal Aviation Act preempts state law in determining the length of a local airport runway.

The appellate court judges ruled that state laws cannot interfere with the Federal Aviation Act, which regulates commercial airports, and that decision now stands.

“This localized, state-created limitation is incompatible with the FAAct’s objective of establishing ‘a uniform and exclusive system of federal regulation in the field of air safety,’ ” Judge Barrington Parker wrote in the decision. “If every state were free to control the lengths of runways within its boundaries, this Congressional objective could never be achieved.”

Reacting to the high court’s decision not to hear his appeal, Tong said: “We vigorously pursued our case to the U.S. Supreme Court. While we strongly believe the Court should have granted cert in this case, we respect the Court’s decision.”

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said that now that the legal fight is over, it is important that neighbors be involved in the process.

“Now the real work begins for the city, the airport and all our residents of the East Shore and Morris Cove neighborhoods to collaborate on a plan that will benefit all,” he said. “It is important that we work together and include our residents every step of the way.”

Scanlon said he is committed to including the airport’s neighbors in New Haven and East Haven as the airport moves forward with its master plan update process, which has three priorities: lengthening the runway; determining whether the airport’s terminal should be moved from its current location, a residential area of New Haven, to a commercial area in East Haven; and the airport’s long-term future from an environmental perspective.

“At the first public meeting we had for our master plan process I gave out my personal cell phone number,” Scanlon said. “I invited people to call. Let’s work together. This does not change that. All this changes is the legal barrier that stopped us from moving forward.”

He said he is committed to “having a dialogue about how we can grow and coexist together.”

As for two key opponents of runway expansion, Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven, whose adjacent districts encompass the airport and the neighborhoods surrounding it, Scanlon said he has had “productive conversations” with both.

“I have a lot of respect for both of them, personally,” said Scanlon, who is also a Democratic state representative. “I believe that continued dialogue, whether it’s in this case or any case, can always lead to a positive outcome.”

Increased service at Tweed is essential to serving the New Haven area’s growing economy, Scanlon said. He said he has spoken to leaders of the area’s biotech, medical technology and software industry.

“These guys don’t have a functioning airport to use that’s convenient to them,” he said. “And if we want to be serious about growing Connecticut’s economy we have to give them a viable airport in south-central Connecticut.”

Scanlon said studies have shown that an expanded Tweed-New Haven would not pull passengers away from Bradley International Aiport in Windsor Locks, but from Laguardia and JFK airports in New York and Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey.

Looney said Monday that it is important for neighbors to be included in any planning process since they will be affected by increased traffic. The streets that carry traffic to the airport in New Haven are narrow, he said.

“It would be untenable to have more traffic on those streets,” Looney said, adding it would make sense to move the terminal to the East Haven side of the airport.

Looney also said he was disappointed the Supreme Court did not take the case because there is a conflict in interpretation between the 2nd Circuit and the 9th Circuit in California. The precedent now exists in the 2nd Circuit for state and quasi-public agencies subject to state law to sue to overturn laws they do not like, he said.

David Owens can be reached at [email protected].

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