Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA), it is the second-largest airport in New England.
The airport is about halfway between Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. It is the state of Connecticut's busiest commercial airport and the second-busiest airport in New England after Boston's Logan International Airport, with over 6.75 million passengers in 2019. The four largest carriers at Bradley International Airport are Southwest, Delta, JetBlue, and American with market shares of 29%, 19%, 15%, and 14%, respectively. As a dual-use military facility with the U.S. Air Force, the airport is home to the 103rd Airlift Wing (103 AW) of the Connecticut Air National Guard.
Bradley was originally branded as the "Gateway to New England" and is home to the New England Air Museum. In 2016, Bradley International launched its new brand, "Love the Journey". In 2019, Bradley was the 55th-busiest commercial airport in the United States, by passengers enplaned.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility.
The former discount department store chain Bradlees was named after the airport as many of the early planning meetings were held there.
History
20th century
Bradley has its origins in the 1940 acquisition of of land in Windsor Locks by the state of Connecticut. In 1941, this land was turned over to the U.S. Army, as the country began its preparations for the impending war.
The airfield was named after 24-year-old Lt. Eugene M. Bradley of Antlers, Oklahoma, assigned to the 64th Pursuit Squadron, who died when his P-40 crashed during a dogfight training drill on August 21, 1941.
The airfield began civil use in 1947 as Bradley International Airport. Its first commercial flight was Eastern Air Lines Flight 624. International cargo operations at the airport also began that year. Bradley eventually replaced the older, smaller Hartford–Brainard Airport as Hartford's primary airport.
In 1948, the federal government deeded the Airport to the State of Connecticut for public and commercial use.
In 1950, Bradley International Airport exceeded the 100,000-passenger mark, handling 108,348 passengers. In 1952, the Murphy Terminal opened. Later dubbed Terminal B, it was the oldest passenger terminal of any major airport in the U.S. when it closed in 2010.
The April 1957 OAG shows 39 weekday departures: 14 American, 14 Eastern, 9 United, and 2 Northeast. The first jets were United 720s to Cleveland in early 1961. Nonstops never reached west of Chicago or south of Washington until Eastern and Northeast began nonstops to Miami in 1967; nonstops to Los Angeles and Atlanta started in 1968.
In 1960, Bradley handled 500,238 passengers.
In 1971, the Murphy Terminal was expanded with an International Arrivals wing. This was followed by the installation of instrument landing systems on two runways in 1977.
In 1974, construction began on an experimental People Mover to move people between the terminal and a parking lot 7/10 of a mile away. It was completed in December 1975. The People Mover consisted of a 7' wide roadway and two 30' long cars. It cost US$4.5 million to construct and was anticipated to cost $250,000 annually to operate. Due to the high operating cost and the fact that the parking lot it was connected to was not being used, the system was never put in service and was dismantled in 1984 to make room for a new terminal building. The retired vehicles from the system are now on display at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, Connecticut.
In 1979, the Windsor Locks tornado ripped through the eastern portions of the airport. The New England Air Museum sustained some of the worst damage. It reopened in 1981.
The new Terminal A and Bradley Sheraton Hotel were completed in 1986. The Roncari cargo terminal was also built.
21st century
2001 saw the commencement of the Terminal Improvement Project to expand Terminal A with a new concourse, construct a new International Arrivals Building and centralize passenger screening. The airport expansion was part of a larger project to enhance the reputation of the Hartford metropolitan area as a destination for business and vacation travel. The new East Concourse, designed by HNTB, opened in September 2002.