Conn.: Bradley Passenger Traffic Up 8 Pct In 2011

Connecticut transportation officials say new airline routes helped increase passenger traffic at Bradley International Airport this year over 2010.

The state Department of Transportation said Tuesday that for the year that ended June 30, 5.6 million passengers used the airport. That's up 8 percent from 5.2 million for the year that ended June 30, 2010.

Officials credit new non-stop flights to destinations such as Florida's Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Other new non-stop routes include flights to Denver, New York, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Washington, D.C.

Bradley is the second largest airport in New England, serving New York, New Jersey and western Massachusetts.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says the number of passengers on U.S. airlines and on foreign airlines serving the U.S. rose 2.1 percent in 2010 from 2009.