Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 21, 2022 17 council will decide to sell the airport. He also noted Sikorsky Memorial has seen an increase in passenger traffic during the pandemic as private jet use became more popular amid a spike in commercial flight cancella- tions and a desire by some to avoid congested airports. Sikorsky is projecting about 65,000 takeoffs and landings in 2022, up from 63,709 in 2021 and 56,667 in 2020. "The FAA categorized us as a general aviation airport of 'national importance,' " Ganim said. Critical for business Airport supporters said Sikorsky Memorial plays a significant role — both economically and historically – for Fairfield County. The airport — visited in the 1930s by such renowned aviators as Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes and Juan Trippe — "is critical for business success and economic prosperity," said Michelle Muoio, airport manager since 2017. "The impact reaches far beyond the footprint of the airport," said Muoio, who noted there is a direct economic impact "such as airport-related jobs and the goods and services sold and a little bit of cargo activity. And, there are also indirect impacts like the dollars that are spent in the commu- nity because of the airport." Muoio said an economic anal- ysis of the airport's benefits will be underway soon. She expects it to show the airport has helped create between 400 and 1,100 jobs with a total economic output of between $60 million and $230 million. Pilot David Faile represents 750 airport users — primarily pilots — as president of the Friends of Sikorsky. The goal of the group, Faile said, is to promote the airport and, when possible, make it better for the business community and region as a whole. About 20 or so years ago, Faile said, neighbors would often complain about the noise stemming from the airport. The louder jet engines that were once on almost every plane have since been retired and replaced with quieter engines alleviating the fears of most of the neighbors, he said. Faile said the airport also supports many of the corporations in Fairfield County. "We have a lot of large corporations around the county and many of them have jets at the airport that are used for business purposes," Faile said. "Other corporations that do not have jets, may have people fly in to do business with them. So, the airport provides kind of a business tool for people. There are also flight schools at the airport, which are beneficial." Faile also noted that the pandemic helped some smaller, general aviation airfields like Sikorsky, as passengers were less inclined to go to larger airports. "During COVID, the airlines (at major airports), really curtailed their operations," he said. "In many cases, that increased travel here at the airport as it was easier for someone to use a corporate jet charter, or their own jet." PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Joseph Ganim Michelle Muoio David Faile is a pilot and president of Friends of Sikorsky, which promotes Sikorsky Memorial Airport. $5,200,000 Construction-to-Permanent Mortgage Construction Financing for Self-Storage Facility in Farmington $3,000,000 Revolving Line of Credit Receivable Financing for Logistics Company in Bristol $6,000,000 Term Loan Acquisition Financing for Materials Company in Southington For more information, contact: Here to Help Your Business Flourish. ThomastonSB.com | 855.344.1874 | | Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender Anthony Mattioli VP, Sr. Commercial Loan Officer AMattioli@ThomastonSB.com 860-283-3469 John-David Scarritt First VP, Sr. Commercial Loan Officer JScarritt@ThomastonSB.com 860-283-3425 Trish Tomlinson VP, Sr. Commercial Loan Officer PTomlinson@ThomastonSB.com 860-283-3499 ∙ Commercial Real Estate Mortgages ∙ Term Loans ∙ Lines of Credit ∙ SBA Loans ∙ Equipment Loans ∙ Merger & Acquisition Financing James Murdick SVP, Chief Loan Officer JMurdick@ThomastonSB.com 860-283-3456

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