Rusty Comment

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^They’re resurfacing the main runway. Not building a new one. Major difference.

People fail to understand that the airlines Massport is trying to convince to fly out of ORH have ‘pre-requisites’. They want a CAT III landing system, they want a full parallel taxi-way, they want a runway in good condition, they want wide taxiways, they want extra available gates in case of breakdowns, they want excess parking in the lots for their passengers. These are all things they claim they ‘require’ in order to fly out of Worcester.

These are all things PVD, BDL, MHT all have. And have had for decades. Worcester? Had none of these things until a few years ago. And they still have yet to fix the small parking lots, add a full parallel taxiway or re-pave the runway. So far they have added additional gate space, and added the CAT III. And this year they intend to add the additional parallel taxiway for the main runway as well as finish re-paving the runway (1/2 of of was already paved during COVID, now their doing the other 1/2). Their doing these things to try and get service.

However, ultimately nothing’s guaranteed. MASSPORT could spend all this money & make the airport as ready as possible for new service but it’s up to the airlines to actually commit & come. We saw that with the CAT III system. It was supposed to open the door for new service. But nothing came. That’s not MASSPORTS fault, the airport NEEDED the CAT III regardless. It was 30 years overdue for one. But the fact that no new Airline started doesn’t make it a waste of money.

It’s up to the airlines to commit to service. I’ve talked to numerous MASSPORT employees. Their trying. They want JetBlue to expand, they WANT Avelo to come to ORH. The airlines just arnt biting. At the end of the day MASSPORT resorts to using Logan as a bribing tool because the HAVE TO. Trust me MASSPORT cares about money & money only. They want ORH as busy & booming as possible because that means MONEY. It’s up to the airlines to bite.