New Bedford Regional Airport
New Bedford Regional Airport is a municipally-owned, public use airport located three nautical miles northwest of the City of New Bedford, a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The airport is a .
The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating FAA control tower. The Acushnet Cedar Swamp borders the airport to the north.
History
New Bedford Regional Airport was constructed between 1940 and 1942 as a commercial airport, but was soon drafted into use for the United States Army Air Forces until the end of World War II as New Bedford Army Airfield. In April 1944, the Navy took over control of the airport and used it as a training post and naval auxiliary air facility to the Naval Air Station Quonset Point in Rhode Island. During its time, the field also had control of Outlying Landing Field Plymouth and Outlying Landing Field Westfield.After the war ended, the airport was converted back into civilian use and has been improved over the years with additional runway lighting and approach guidance systems.
Historical airline service
, a major east coast air carrier, provided scheduled airline service throughout the 1950s and 1960s until 1972 when it was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines which in turn then ceased serving New Bedford several years later. In 1960, Northeast was operating Douglas DC-3 aircraft into the airport with nonstop service to New York LaGuardia Airport, Boston and Martha's Vineyard. By 1969, Northeast had introduced larger Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprops on nonstop flights to New York LaGuardia, New York JFK Airport and Boston. Following its acquisition of Northeast, Delta continued to serve New Bedford with Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprops inherited from Northeast on nonstop flights to New York La Guardia and Boston during the early and mid-1970s.Following the cessation of service by Delta during the mid-1970s, Air New England provided regional service throughout New England and New York until it ceased all operations and went out of business. In 1975, Air New England was the only airline serving New Bedford with a total of up to fourteen nonstop flights a day into the airport from New York LaGuardia, Boston, Hyannis and Martha's Vineyard with these services being operated with Beechcraft 99 and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter commuter turboprops as well as with larger Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprops and also with Douglas DC-3 aircraft. By 1979, Air New England had reduced its service into New Bedford and was operating four flights a day with DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops on nonstop services twice a day to New York LaGuardia and Hyannis. Nor-East Commuter Airlines was also serving New Bedford in 1979 with several nonstop flights a day to Martha's Vineyard operated with Piper Navajo twin prop aircraft.
Following Air New England, Provincetown-Boston Airlines was the primary airline serving New Bedford until 1989, when it ceased all flights into the airport. In 1985, PBA was operating three nonstop flights a day to New York LaGuardia with Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante commuter turboprops. At the peak of the PBA's business, 102,880 passengers passed through its facilities in New Bedford.
Part 139 Certification was received in the Summer of 2017, allowing the Airport to accept larger passenger aircraft for the purpose of passenger transportation.
In December 2017, Elite Airways flew seven flights from New Bedford to Vero Beach, Florida. However, this service was suspended due to the growing pilot shortage and a limited fleet of aircraft.
Facilities
New Bedford Regional Airport covers an area of 925 acres, which contains two asphalt runways: 5/23 measuring 5,400 x 150 ft and 14/32 measuring 5,000 x 75 ft.The airport had 50,000 aircraft operations in 2019. There are 97 aircraft based at this airport: 76 Single Engine, 16 Multi-Engine, 5 Jet Aircraft, 1 Helicopter, and 1 Ultralight.
Airlines
is the primary Air Carrier, operating scheduled passenger air service at the New Bedford Regional Airport. Destinations include Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket year-round; New York and Washington DC seasonally, through a Codeshare agreement with JetBlue and United Airlines.Fixed-base operators
The airport has a thriving general aviation community and is served by three FBOs:*
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Education centers
Dining
The Airport Grille opened its doors under new management in October of 2019. The restaurant offers a range of American-style pasta, steak and seafood dishes, with a focus on lobster. The Airport Grille is located inside the Main Terminal Building.Expansion
Over the past ten years, the FAA, the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission, and the New Bedford Airport Commission proposed an expansion project to develop New Bedford Regional Airport into a regional air cargo facility. The recommended expansion plans included a proposal to extend runway 5-23 to 8,000 ft from its current length of 5,400 ft. Air cargo carriers require at least 6,000 to 7,000 ft of runway.However, despite the economic benefits that a new cargo facility could bring to the area, there is a substantial local opposition. Large cargo jets will create more noise and pollution than the smaller planes that presently utilize the airport, and the runway extension itself could affect 17 to 58 acres of wetlands. Safety could also be a concern, with large aircraft following a flight path directly over populated residential areas.
Due to this opposition, in addition to environmental and safety concerns of the FAA that were not fully addressed by the expansion planning, the plan to extend the runway was rejected by the Airport Commission on May 4, 2005. The commission voted instead to implement various safety upgrades which included an added 503 feet of length.
In 2015, Runway 5/23 was completely rebuilt, with an addition in length of 400 feet, making the new dimensions 5,400×150 ft. The project also added much needed Runway Safety Areas, putting the runway environment in compliance with modern standards. Taxiway Alpha was also rebuilt at this time, adding Taxiway Safety Areas.
In 2018, Runway 14/32 was narrowed to 75 ft, but retained its original length of 5,000 ft, while also added conforming Runway Safety Areas. The project also saw the eradication of the Taxiway B North run-up pad, constructing Taxiway Kilo in its place. In addition, taxiways Echo and Charlie were constructed. Several improvements to taxiway Alpha were also part of this construction phase.
In 2019, the Airport was awarded several grants for new wildlife fencing, ARFF Equipment, and a supplemental grant of $5 Million to design and reconstruct Terminal Aprons. This grant included funding for substructure improvements to assist with drainage.
Airlines and destinations
| Domestic Destinations Map |