Sikorsky Memorial Airport

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Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport
17 April 1991
FAA airport diagram
IATA: BDR – ICAO: KBDR – FAA: BDR
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		City of Bridgeport
Serves		Bridgeport, Connecticut
Location		Stratford, Connecticut
Elevation AMSL		9 ft / 3 m
Coordinates		41°09′51.08″N 073°07′32.47″W / 41.1641889, -73.1256861
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
6/24	4,677	1,426	Asphalt
11/29	4,761	1,451	Asphalt
Helipads
Number	Length		Surface
Number	ft	m	Surface
H1	40	12	Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations			77,617
Based aircraft			241
Source: Federal Aviation Administration^[1]

"BDR" redirects here. For Backup Designated Router - routing protocol concept, see Ospf.

"BDR" redirects here. For the auto racing team, see Bill Davis Racing.

"BDR" redirects here. For the German cycling governing body, see Bund Deutscher Radfahrer.

Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (IATA: BDR, ICAO: KBDR, FAA LID: BDR), formerly known as Bridgeport Municipal Airport, is a public airport located in Stratford, three miles (5 km) southeast of the central business district of Bridgeport, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States.^[1] In the past, the airport was usually referred to on destination maps and flight status displays as just "Bridgeport", the largest city in Connecticut.

The airport is made up of a passenger terminal, general aviation terminal, and various private hangars. The passenger terminal contains airline check-in counters and offices, three arrival/departure gates, rental car desks, and a restaurant. At one point in the 1980s, the airport was simultaneously serviced by three carriers, US Airways Express, Delta Connection, and Continental Connection. Service to the airport declined rapidly in the 1990s. Airlines complained that the short length of the runway was preventing them from flying larger planes into the airport, and reducing profit. Continental Connection discontinued service to the airport in 1994, followed soon after by Delta Connection, which ended service to Bridgeport in 1997. In November 1999, US Airways Express ended service to the airport, leaving Bridgeport with no commercial service.

The airport has been the subject of heated debate in the municipalities of Stratford and Bridgeport. While the City of Bridgeport owns the airport, the entirety of the property is located in Stratford. Before the end of World War II there was little more than salt marshes surrounding the airport, but the Town of Stratford permitted extensive residential development in the Lordship area, adjacent to the airfield in the 1950s and 1960s. Bridgeport has constantly pushed for runway and terminal expansion, hoping to attract new service to the airport. The city has argued that service to the airport is necessary for the continued growth of Bridgeport's economy. The town of Stratford has opposed terminal expansion and any lengthening of runways which would interfere with existing local roads. Even when the airport was served by major carriers, Stratford pushed for strict limits on flights in and out the airport, primarily due to noise and the airport's very close proximity to the Lordship and South End neighborhoods. In 2003 the Federal Aviation Administration mandated the lengthening of the two runways to accommodate unpaved safety overruns at each end. Stratford and Connecticut officials have vigorously resisted the FAA effort to install the overruns, but the FAA has notified Stratford, Bridgeport and state officials that it may obtain a federal court order to use eminent domain to complete necessary work to add the overruns.

In June 2006, US Helicopter began scheduled service to New York's Downtown Manhattan Heliport, with continuing service to John F. Kennedy International Airport. This marked the first time since 1999 that the airport welcomed regularly scheduled commercial airline flights.

In February 2007, State Legislators from Bridgeport, in an effort to force expansion, introduced legislation allowing the State of Connecticut to take over the airport. Officials from Stratford would prefer the town take ownership of the airport and oppose the proposed State takeover.

1 History
2 Facilities and aircraft
3 Airlines and destinations
4 See Also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The airport was originally Avon Field, a racetrack where aircraft landed on the grass infield. It was the site of the country's first air show held in 1911. It became known as Mollison Field after Captain James Mollison's crash landing there in 1933 during an attempt to fly across the Atlantic. The City of Bridgeport purchased the airport in 1937, after which it became Bridgeport Municipal Airport. In 1972, it was rededicated as the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport, honoring the airport's most famous tenant, Igor Sikorsky, who selected Stratford as the site for his Sikorsky Aviation Corporation in 1929.^[2]

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Sikorsky Memorial Airport covers an area of 800 acres (324 ha) which contains two runways and one helipad:^[1]

Runway 6/24: 4,677 x 150 ft. (1,426 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Runway 11/29: 4,761 x 150 ft. (1,451 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Helipad H1: 40 x 40 ft. (12 x 12 m), Surface: Asphalt

For the 12-month period ending February 28, 2007, the airport had 77,617 aircraft operations, an average of 212 per day: 96% general aviation, 3% air taxi and 1% military. There are 241 aircraft based at this airport: 72% single engine, 11% multi-engine, 15% jet aircraft, 2% helicopters and <1% ultralight.^[1]