What's flying over Hartford right now?

What you're seeing over Hartford

Most airliners over Hartford are flying to or from Bradley International, about 12 miles north of downtown in Windsor Locks. Bradley is New England's second-busiest airport after Boston Logan, a point-to-point operation where Southwest, American, Delta, JetBlue, United, Breeze and others carry travelers from central Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

Because Bradley sits north of the city, downtown Hartford mostly sees airliners at moderate altitudes on their way in and out, along with higher traffic on the routes between New York and Boston. Closer to home, Hartford-Brainard Airport, beside the Connecticut River just south of downtown, handles small planes and flight training under the skyline. The state's long aerospace history shows up in the sky too: Pratt & Whitney builds jet engines in East Hartford, and a few miles up the river, Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts, flies the C-5M Super Galaxy, one of the largest aircraft in the world. Watch it all on the live map, and read our guide to judging how far away a plane is when one of those C-5s makes a smaller jet look tiny.

Airports near Hartford

• commercialBDLBradley International Airport
  KBDL · 12 miles north of downtown
  New England's second-busiest airport, in Windsor Locks, home to the Connecticut Air National Guard's 103rd Airlift Wing. Live traffic at BDL ↗
• general aviationHFDHartford-Brainard Airport
  KHFD · near downtown
  A riverside general aviation airport just south of downtown Hartford. Live traffic at HFD ↗
• militaryCEFWestover Air Reserve Base
  KCEF · 30 miles north of downtown
  An Air Force Reserve base in Chicopee, Massachusetts, home of the 439th Airlift Wing's C-5M Super Galaxies. Live traffic at CEF ↗
• commercialHVNTweed New Haven Airport
  KHVN · 36 miles south of downtown
  A small commercial airport on the shoreline about 35 miles south of Hartford. Live traffic at HVN ↗

Common traffic over Hartford

Bradley's airline mix is mostly narrowbodies and regional jets: Southwest 737 MAX 8s and 737-800s, American and Delta A320-family jets and E175s, JetBlue A320s and A220s, and Breeze A220s on leisure routes. Seasonal international flights have connected Bradley with Europe at times. Cargo carriers such as FedEx and UPS fly into Bradley as well, mostly at night.

Bradley's main runway runs northeast-southwest, with a crossing runway for smaller aircraft and crosswinds:

• Southwest landings, common with prevailing southwest winds: arrivals approach from the northeast over Enfield, Suffield and the Massachusetts line, and departures climb out to the southwest over Windsor and Bloomfield before turning.
• Northeast landings: arrivals come in from the southwest over Windsor and East Granby, and departures climb toward Springfield.

The Connecticut Air National Guard's 103rd Airlift Wing flies C-130H Hercules transports from Bradley, and Westover's huge C-5Ms often fly training patterns over the Connecticut River valley. Connecticut Army National Guard helicopters, including Black Hawks and Chinooks, also fly from the state's Guard aviation facilities.

Connecticut is also helicopter country in another sense: Sikorsky builds Black Hawks in Stratford, southwest of Hartford. Locally you'll see Hartford Hospital's LIFE STAR medevac helicopters, State Police aircraft and news crews. High above, flights between New York, Boston and Europe stream across the state at cruise altitude almost around the clock.

Aircraft you'll often see here

Plane-spotting tips for Hartford

The New England Air Museum, on the edge of Bradley in Windsor Locks, is the region's best-known aviation stop, with a large collection and views across the airfield toward the main runway. The public roads around Bradley's perimeter, especially along Route 75 and on the Suffield and East Granby sides, give views of arrivals depending on the flow, and the open farmland north of the airport keeps sightlines clear. In Hartford, Riverside Park and the Connecticut River trail beside Brainard let you watch small planes in the pattern with the skyline behind them. From downtown, look north for Bradley traffic. Fall foliage season brings beautiful, crisp days, while winter nor'easters can close the airport for hours.

Hartford sky questions

Nearby cities

Planes over Providence (65 mi) · Planes over Boston (92 mi) · Planes over New York City (100 mi) · Planes over Philadelphia (181 mi)