JetBlue Resuming Daily Flights at Worcester Regional Airport After Halting Service During COVID Pandemic

JetBlue on Wednesday announced it will resume daily flights out of Worcester Regional Airport after halting the commercial service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline had been offering daily flights to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and New York City, but as cases of coronavirus spread last year and slowed travel, JetBlue requested approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation to temporarily suspend all service from Worcester. In its filing, JetBlue said flights from Worcester to New York City booked at less than 15% capacity, “making the service unsustainable for JetBlue to operate.”

But now, as coronavirus health metrics improve in Massachusetts and across the country, people are becoming more comfortable with travel and are starting to book domestic flights.

Starting Aug. 19, direct flights will be offered between Worcester Regional Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Flights on the JetBlue website were as low as $44 each way on Wednesday, just before the announcement.

Flights will operate once daily until October, when twice daily flights will be offered.

On Oct. 21, daily nonstop service will resume between Worcester and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Flights on the JetBlue website were as low as $79 each way on Wednesday.

“JetBlue is open for business in Worcester,” Joanna Geraghty, president and COO of JetBlue, said Wednesday.

There has not been any announcement about the return of the Orlando flight. Geraghty said JetBlue is examining additional frequencies and locations as business and leisure travel ramp back up.

“Small airports are such an important part of JetBlue’s network,” she said. “We have so many people now, particularly during COVID, that have moved outside of larger metropolitan areas, so connecting those communities to the world is a really important part of the JetBlue strategy.”

The announcement comes as Worcester Regional Airport marks its 75th anniversary.

JetBlue is one of three airlines that were offering daily flights in Worcester. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines last year also suspended flights to Philadelphia and Detroit, respectively. Delta announced it was suspending flights in September. JetBlue and American Airlines announced suspensions in June. It left runways at Worcester quiet for months, aside from private flights.

Earlier this year, Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. predicted that JetBlue would return to Worcester before the end of the calendar year, possibly bringing back its Florida flights before summer is over.

JetBlue started flying out of Worcester in 2013 with its service to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Then in 2017, it added the trip to New York.

Back in 2013, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty gave Geraghty, an alumna of the College of the Holy Cross, a key to the city of Worcester. Geraghty held it up with a smile on Wednesday.

“As a Holy Cross alumni, I cannot stay away from Worcester for too long,” she said, “and this is as good a reason to be back as any reason.”

Petty said he hopes that the 40,000 college students heading into Worcester this fall will utilize the airport.

“We’re poised,” he said. “We’re ready to go.”

Massport Board Chairman and Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis said that with the return of flights announced, people need to do one thing: Fly Worcester.

Worcester Regional Airport had once been eyed for closure. Instead, Massport acquired the airport in 2010 and since then $100 million has been pumped into the facility, including a CAT III landing system. In July, Worcester Regional Airport received a $5 million grant from the Federal Aviation Authority to rehabilitate a runway.

Before the pandemic, the airport was on its way to reaching a record number of passengers, Massport CEO Lisa Wieland said.

This summer, Massport is working on a $2 million project to rehab taxiway B, Wieland said.

“Now that vaccinations are increasing, travel restrictions are easing and passenger demand is growing, things are starting to pick up in the aviation industry again,” Wieland said.

Massport Aviation Director Ed Freni said that during the pandemic, the airport has developed new protocols around safety and sanitation.

Congressman Jim McGovern said the announcement Wednesday is a sign that Worcester Regional Airport is on the rebound.

“Great cities and great regions thrive on great airports,” he said. “They connect us to other parts of the country, they connect us to the world, and they unlock unlimited potential for our entire region.”

The airport celebrated a milestone of 750,000 passengers in November 2019. At its peak in 1989, Worcester Regional Airport served more than 340,000 people.

Over the winter, a study examining community interest in flying out of Worcester showed overwhelming support to expand service all over the country, specifically with flights to Chicago, Washington D.C. and Atlanta.

Massport owns and operates Worcester Regional Airport in addition to Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in the Port of Boston and Hanscom Field.

Related Content:

• Chicago, Los Angeles listed as top destinations travelers at Worcester airport want to see
• After all the progress, COVID crushed Worcester’s airport; Why officials say its comeback must happen

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