SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — It’s a historic day for the folks in southern Connecticut who, for the first time, are flying from Tweed New Haven airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Excitement was in the air Wednesday at Tweed for the start of Avelo Airlines service from the Elm City to San Juan.
Among the crowd, is Rosario Ruiz who is taking her son back to the place he was born.
“I wanted to show him where he grew up, over there, and the school that he went to“ said Rosario Ruiz, of Bridgeport. “And meet his grandma because he doesn’t remember too much about her.”
The Ruiz family moved to Bridgeport when Victor was six years old. Now, with Avelo choosing Puerto Rico as its 18th destination to fly out of Tweed, it’s more convenient for them to see people they’ve gone decades without visiting.
“I don’t remember ever being in Puerto Rico,” said Victor Ruiz, from Bridgeport. “I’m just excited to see a beach and my grandma again.”
Jose Lopez of Hamden is also going to see family—for the first time in four years.
“I’m going to see my father. He’s 95 and, I figured, let me go now before anything happens," said Lopez.
Lopez flies here as often as he can—drawn to the island his ancestors came from.
The occasion was a long time coming, with the greater New Haven community begging for an easier connection to the island.
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“The Puerto Rican community is a growing community,” said Joseph Rodriguez, president of Puerto Ricans United. “25,000 strong in the New Haven area, roughly 90,000 within the New Haven, Milford metro area.”
Officials see it as a way to bring tourists to both New Haven and Puerto Rico.
“This is an opportunity right, to connect, expand tourism to the island,” said State Rep. Juan Candelaria, (D) New Haven. “And also to New Haven and Connecticut.”
Many see it as the beginning of a new partnership—celebrating their roots---and planting new ones.
“I hope I can come back next year,” said Ruiz.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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