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Does New England need a regional airport system?
Such a model in New England would "provide the basis for significant enhancement of all transit connectivity modes."
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island should join forces to create a regional airport system, former Boston Transportation Commissioner John Vitagliano wrote in a Boston Globe op-ed this week.
New England travelers would benefit from Boston’s Logan International Airport, Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, and New Hampshire’s Manchester-Boston Regional Airport working together to meet the needs travelers, according to the article.
Logan, which served 44 million passengers in fiscal 2025, is “bursting at the seams” and produces 15 tons of harmful pollutants daily, according to the Globe op-ed, which called Massport’s prediction of a 48% increase in passengers and 31% increase in flights over the next decade or so “a worrisome thought.”
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The move would require “bold political leadership” from the three states, wrote Vitagliano, and could be modeled after the New York-New Jersey Port Authority Compact of 1921, which operates John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in N.Y. and Newark Liberty International Airport in N.J. successfully with commissioners from each state.
Such a model in New England would “provide the basis for significant enhancement of all transit connectivity modes,” wrote Vitagliano. Denver’s economy is thriving with its airport 23 miles from downtown, he noted.
T.F. Green Airport was recently named America’s No. 1 airport by Travel + Leisure readers for its easy access and efficiency.
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