About Hartford-Brainard Airport


Hartford – Brainard Airport (KHFD) is a public use, publicly owned airport situated on 201 acres, located in the City of Hartford, just 3 miles from the downtown business district.  It is the premier general aviation facility serving central Connecticut in the county of Hartford.  The airport is designated as a Regional GA Airport and also a Reliever Airport in the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). This means the airport can relieve congestion at nearby commercial service airports including Bradley International Airport, thereby providing improved general aviation access to the overall community.

The airport consists of one seasonal 2,350 foot long turf runway and two asphalt runways, 4,400 and 2,300 feet long, one lighted helipad, and supporting infrastructure that includes a taxiway system, aircraft parking aprons, an instrument landing system, air traffic control tower, weather station, vehicle parking, and numerous airport tenant facilities.  FAA contract tower operating hours are 6 am to midnight daily.

A full range of FBO aviation business services are available including concierge, fueling, ground support, aircraft repair, avionics and flight school training.  Other business service offerings are T-hangar and corporate aircraft storage, private air charter, aircraft sales and rental, car rental, and an on-airport restaurant.

Hartford – Brainard Airport is also home to Connecticut Aero Tech School.   As a part of the State technical high school system, the newly constructed school offers training programs in the aviation maintenance technology fields

Airport History

Hartford-Brainard Airport, located in the city of Hartford, has historically been one of the busiest general aviation airports in the state.  In 1921, a 350-acre cow pasture became the chosen site for what has been called the country’s first municipal airport.   It was named for Hartford Mayor Newton C. Brainard. The airfield’s status was boosted in 1927, when Charles A. Lindbergh stopped first at Brainard on a national victory tour after his solo transatlantic flight. During World War II, the airport was designated Brainard Field as a major United States Army Air Forces training center for pilots and aircrews. When Bradley International Airport (BDL) started developing in the 1950s, commercial jets moved their operations from Brainard.  By 1958 all commercial carriers had relocated to BDL. The state and the city of Hartford entered into an agreement that year giving control of the airport to the state, while making the remaining half of the land into an industrial park.  Today, and as it has for many years, Brainard serves as the reliever airport for Bradley Airport. Effective July 1, 2013, FAA approved transfer of the State’s six airports, including Hartford-Brainard Airport, from the Connecticut Department of Transportation to the Connecticut Airport Authority.