New Bedford Remains Committed to Regional Airport

For those of you, like me, who have considered pulling the plug on what appears on the surface to be a loser of an airport in favor of potentially acres of new housing and commercial space, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell won't be distracted from his mission to make the New Bedford Regional Airport work.

"The New Bedford Regional Airport is a key economic engine for the region," Mitchell told me in a text.

To look around at the largely empty terminal building, still awaiting a decision from the City Council as to a financial commitment to lock in state funds for a replacement, it might appear as though there is little there to save.

Cape Air recently announced service between New Bedford and Boston. It launched with much fanfare, but only lasted about a month and a half. Elite Airways tried non-stop jet service to Vero Beach, Florida, from New Bedford in 2017. It also failed.

READ MORE: Cape Air Ends New Bedford-Boston Flights

Mitchell isn't giving up, though.

"Recently, runways have been rebuilt, Bridgewater State University expanded its flight school, and the new terminal and tower project is moving along," he said.

New Bedford Public Information Officer Jonathan Darling said, "According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division, the New Bedford Regional Airport generates nearly $30 million in annual economic output."

Darling said it's not as easy as it sounds to close the airport, saying the process would be "lengthy and extremely expensive."

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The City would need approval from a "myriad of government agencies," Darling said, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

"The DOD would have to weigh the closure against the National Emergency Use Provision, a federal law that allows the U.S. government to take control of an airport during a declared national emergency," Darling said. "The City would have to pay back almost $200 million to the state and federal government."

That only scratches the surface.

"Additionally, there are 11 tenants on the airport with long-term leases that would also have to be bought out with negotiated settlements," Darling said.

As for Mitchell, there is no going back.

"The airport's best days are ahead," he said.