Mia Cortés Castro photo
Movimiento Cultural: "Sing it with us! Hello Avelo! Hello Avelo!"
“¡Yo soy Boricua, pa’ que tu lo sepas!”
These shouts of celebration and of Puerto Rican pride rang out over Tweed’s tarmac as a host of city and state officials and airport boosters celebrated new direct flights from the East Shore to San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting in November.
Tweed workers dance and cheer along.
People sporting red, white, and blue, waving around Puerto Rican flags, and dancing along to Movimiento Cultural’s traditional bomba music, all gathered on the tarmac of the Morris Cove airport Wednesday morning for the press conference announcing the flights and celebrating what supporters described as an an easier and more affordable way to travel to the island.
Movimiento Cultural.
The direct flight will be flown by Avelo Airlines biweekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting on Nov. 15. This flight to SJU will become the 18th nonstop flight destination out of Tweed by Avelo Airlines, and fares will start at $99.
This surge in new flights out of Tweed since Avelo’s arrival in November 2021 comes as the airport continues to try to expand by building a new larger terminal on the East Haven side of the property and by extending its main runway to attract more air carriers. Click here and here to read about the environmental assessment of that expansion plan, which remains under federal review and which critics have slammed as downplaying a larger airport’s negative impacts on noise, air quality, and traffic in the area.
With over 300,000 Puerto Ricans in Connecticut and over 20,000 residing in New Haven alone, this direct flight to Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Isla Verde is not only a symbol of increased business and travel to the island, but also a promise to all Puerto Ricans in the area that they will get to go home and see their families more easily and more often, supporters said.
“This new flight is a big deal,” Mayor Justin Elicker said at the press conference. “It will both deepen our city’s already deep connection with Puerto Rico, and will also create new good jobs in our community to continue to support our people.”
Mayor Elicker: "¡Somos boricuas!"
Besides Mayor Elicker, other speaks on Wednesday’s lineup included Avelo Airlines Founder, Chairman, and CEO Andrew Levy, Gov. Ned Lamont, State Reps. Toni E. Walker and Juan Candelaria, and Avports CEO Jorge Roberts. Each stood in front of a Boeing NG 737 aircraft, the same that will be used for the flight, and red, white, and blue balloons spelling out SJU, as they addressed a crowd of over 50 people.
Balloons spelling out SJU, the code for Puerto Rico's airport, in the Puerto Rican flag colors.
“This flight will provide a cultural exchange between ourselves and the island, allowing us to experience the lively culture of La Isla del Encanto,” said Roberts.
In between the chants of pride in Spanish and bomba performances by Movimiento Cultural, speakers addressed a team of Puerto Rican Avelo flight attendants who will be working the new direct flight, as well as a crowd of many local Puerto Ricans, anxiously awaiting their Avelo flights home.
Tweed workers celebrating with Senator Richard Blumenthal and Governor Ned Lamont.
“Puerto Rico is part of Connecticut’s extended family,” said Gov. Lamont after contributing to chants in Spanish. “It will make it easier for us to go down there and for them to come up here, bringing families closer together.”
Governor Lamont at Tuesday's press conference.
Off to enjoy an array of traditional Puerto Rican foods, the crowd cheered in excitement and anticipation of their trips to the island.
Thanks to this new flight, this reporter will get to go home for Thanksgiving.