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Manchester–Boston Regional Airport

Coordinates: 42°55′57″N 071°26′08″W / 42.93250°N 71.43556°W / 42.93250; -71.43556
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42°55′57″N 071°26′08″W / 42.93250°N 71.43556°W / 42.93250; -71.43556

Manchester • Boston Regional Airport
Airphoto taken 11 April 1998
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Manchester
ServesManchester, New Hampshire
Elevation AMSL266 ft / 81 m
Websitewww.FlyManchester.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 9,250 2,819 Asphalt
6/24 7,150 2,179 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations93,138
Based aircraft100
For the airport in the United Kingdom, see Manchester Airport.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (IATA: MHT, ICAO: KMHT, FAA LID: MHT), commonly referred to simply as "Manchester Airport," is a public airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire[1] on the county line of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. The airport lies in two communities, Manchester and Londonderry.

Founded in 1927, it first moved more than 1 million passengers in a year in 1997. It handled 3,896,532 passengers in 2006, down 10.1% from 2005.

The facility was known as Manchester Airport until April 18, 2006, when it added "Boston Regional" to advertise its proximity to Boston, Massachusetts, about 50 miles to the south.

Certified for Cat III B operations, the airport has a reputation for never surrendering to bad weather. The only time it has ever been closed was when the national airspace was closed for two days following September 11, 2001.[2]

History

FAA diagram of Manchester Airport

The Manchester airport was founded in June 1927, when the town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen put $15,000 towards the project. By October, a board of aviation had been founded and ground was broken at an 84-acre site near Pine Island Pond. It took only a month for two 1,800-foot runways to be constructed. After the formation of Northeast Airways at the site in 1933, the first passenger terminal was built.

By World War II, the airport had more infrastructure, and became the home for up to 6,000 troops and an anti-submarine warfare squadron. The base was dedicated as Grenier Field on February 22, 1942, to honor 2Lt. Jean Donat Grenier, born in Manchester on November 24, 1909, who was killed when his plane crashed in a Utah snowstorm on February 16, 1934, while on a familiarization flight over the air mail route from Salt Lake City to Cheyenne.

After the war and after the Air Force bacame a separate service, Grenier Field was redesignated Grenier Air Field on January 8, 1948. A few days later the term Air Force base came into use and Grenier Air Field was redesignated Grenier Air Force Base on January 13, 1948, one of many designated as AFBs that day by Department of the Air Force (DAF) General Order (GO) number 2.

The 82nd Fighter Wing was assigned to the base in August 1947. The wing and the base were assigned to the Strategic Air Command and operated fighter escort P-51 (later F-51) aircraft. It was comprised of the 82nd Fighter Group; 95th, 96th and 97th Fighter Squadrons; 82nd Maintenance and Supply Group; 82nd Maintenance Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Supply Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Motor Vehicle Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Air Base Group; 82nd Communications Sq., Fighter SE; 82nd Air Police Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Food Service Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Base Service Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Installations Sq., Fighter, SE; 82nd Finance Disbursing Unit, Fighter, SE; and the 82nd Medical Group. The 82nd Fighter Wing was controlled by the 307th Bomb Wing at MacDill AFB in Tampa.

The base was transferred from SAC to the First Air Force on August 22, 1949, by Continental Air Command GO 98 of September 15, 1949, and announced by First Air Force GO 90 of September 20, 1949. According to the First Air Force history for the period, “following the 48 group program”, that is the decision that the Air Force should be comprised of 48 rather than 57 groups, Headquarters USAF ordered the inactivation of Grenier AFB and the 82nd Fighter Wing by October 2, 1949.

The 2263rd Standby Base Sq., with five officers, 150 airmen and 11 civilians, was activated to “to prepare the base for final disposition of its property”. The 2263rd Standby Sq. was inactivated on January 25, 1949, leaving behind a small team to conclude the inactivation, followed by an 11-man fire guard, both groups on detached duty from the 33rd Fighter-Interceptor Group at Otis AFB.

The Air Force reopened the base in 1951 as a consequence of the Korean War. Having turned the air base over to the community, very likely this was a lease arrangement for part of the airport, including the airfield, while civil operations continued there.

The base was transferred from the Air Defense Command to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) on July 1, 1953, by Department of the Air Force GO number 17 of May 29, 1953. And it was transferred from MATS to CONAC on November 1, 1955, by DAF GO 83 of October 11, 1955.

The 2235th Air Reserve Flying Training Center and the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron (Grenierderes) were then assigned to the base.

The Air Force announced in late 1958 that military air base units at Grenier AFB would be phased down and discontinued by the end of July 31, 1960, leaving it operated entirely by reservists and personnel under the new Air Reserve Technician (ART) program. In effect, as the Air Reserve Flying Training Center closed and it’s regular Air Force training personnel left and were replaced by civil service ARTs, the base became civilan operated.

The Air Force facility was redesignated "Grenier Field - Manchester Municipal Airport" on April 21, 1959, by DAF GO 37 of June 30, 1959, perhaps indicating relinquishment of the airfield to the civil airport as part of the end of the Regular Air Force presence there.

The end of Air Force Reserve training at Grenier AFB was announced on December 12, 1963, and the 732nd Troop Carrier Squadron inactivated in January 1966. Although the 1963 announcement indicated that the New Hampshire Air National Guard would remain, the 157th Air Transport Group and its 133rd Air Transport Squadron (NHANG) moved to Pease AFB, N.H.

The Secretary of Defense, as part of an announcement of bases closing in 33 states, said that Grenier Field would “revert to civilian control by July 1966” with an Air Research and Development Command "instrumentation squadron to remain” (ARDC was redesignated Air Force Systems Command [AFSC] in 1962). This was the 6594th Instrumentation Squadron, which operated the nearby New Hampshire Satellite Tracking Station that eventually became today’s New Boston AFS.

The Air Force facilities were transferred from CONAC to AFSC on April 1, 1966, by DAF SO GA-32 of May 20, 1966, and redesignated Grenier Air Force Station (AFS). During this transition period, from January to July 1966, the control tower remained in operation by Detachment 1, 214th Communications Sq. (Air Force Communications Service). The base caretaker was Det. 6, 2200th Air Base Wing.

The designation of Grenier AFS and its assignment to Air Force Systems Command reflects the continuing presence of the 6594th Instrumentation Sq (AFSC), which was activated at Grenier AFB on October 8, 1959. The squadron was quite large with 25 officers, 331 enlisted and 44 civilians assigned in late 1963. In addition there was many contractor staff.

Military operation of the tracking site eventually proved to be impractical. In February 1972 the Air Force Satellite Control Facility developed an implementation plan for closing Grenier AFS and the “conversion of technical functions to organization and maintenance contractors and use of civil service personnel for supporting activities” with “consideration given to insure no impairment to operational effectiveness of the 6594INSTMNS.” The squadron and Grenier AFS probably inactivated at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 1972, finally ending the U.S. Air Force presence at Grenier.

Also in the second half of the 1960s, a Nashua, N.H., defense contractor, Sanders Associates, was installing radio intercept and direction finding equipment into rebuilt C-47s at Grenier Field. The 3247th Special Activity Squadron (Provisional) was based at Grenier to do in-flight calibration of the equipment and hand over the airplanes, designated EC-47s, to ferry crews to take to the Republic of Vietnam.

Post-war expansion

The current Manchester airport began to take shape after the 1960s. In 1961, an $850,000 terminal opened. In 1966, the military removed its remaining forces, leaving the airport open for expansion. Twelve years after the departure of the army, the airfield was once again renamed Manchester Airport.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the airport was served by Northeast Airlines with the DC-6, DC-9, and FH-227. Delta Air Lines absorbed Northeast in 1972 and continued to serve the airport with the DC-9 until 1982 when it discontinued service at Manchester. In the mid 1980s, airlines once again started offering jet service out of Manchester. United Airlines inaugurated service at Manchester in 1984 with two daily flights to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. This was part of their 50 States campaign, which positioned United Airlines as the only carrier to serve all 50 states with mainline service. The Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 were initially used on the Chicago flights, which would often make intermediate stops in cities like Providence, Albany, Syracuse, or Burlington to pick up or drop off passengers. Manchester was also a 'tag-on' for United Airlines flights heading from Bangor and Portland, Maine to Chicago, but the carrier no longer serves either city with mainline aircraft.

In the early 1990s, United Airlines began flights between Manchester and Washington Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. But creation of a north-south hub at Dulles didn't work for United, and heavy competition in this market led to a quick exit. The Boeing 737 was used for this short-lived service, which comprised about four daily circuits between the two airports. US Airways started service at Manchester about a year after United Airlines did, by connecting their hubs at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The carrier used the DC-9 and BAC 111 aircraft. Both carriers expanded service at Manchester over the years with bigger planes and more flights. United Airlines now runs a strict nonstop schedule to and from Chicago with no intermediate stops or tag-ons. The Boeing 757 has been used by both United Airlines and US Airways at Manchester, which stands as the largest passenger-carrying plane to serve the airport in scheduled service. The Airbus A320 series of aircraft is also commonly used by United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and (occasionally) by US Airways.

Expansion

In 1992, a long-term expansion and improvement plan started to take shape. Two years after beginning, a new 158,000-square foot terminal opened, providing ample room for larger jets. The airport continued to expand, opening a new parking garage and parking lots in the next years, as well as working to reconstruct the runways and taxiways. In 1998, these expansions paid off, with MetroJet, Northwest Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all beginning service. The airport has prospered from the "Southwest effect", in which competing airlines increase service and decrease fares to compete with the low cost carrier. Throughout the 1990s, Manchester Airport outpaced almost every other similarly-sized airport in terms of passenger growth. In 2003, runway 17/35 was extended from 7001 feet to 9,250 feet, allowing non-stop service to Las Vegas.

For passenger service, the airport is the fourth-largest in New England, after Logan International Airport in Boston, Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Suffield and East Granby, Connecticut, and T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island. Municipalities within the Boston Metropolitan Area in partnership with their state governments in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, decided to make this airport and T. F. Green Airport alternatives to Logan International Airport in order to avoid having to build a new airport.

Manchester Airport is the third-largest cargo airport in New England. Only Boston's Logan Airport and Bradley International exceed Manchester in terms of cargo handled. In 2005, the airport processed 150 million pounds of freight. Most of this was carried aboard aircraft flown by FedEx, UPS, and DHL. All three serve Manchester Airport with large, cargo-specific jets, including the Airbus A300, DC-10, and MD-11 by FedEx and UPS.

UPS uses Manchester to 'feed' the rest of northern New England by contracting with Wiggins Aviation,[citation needed] which flies smaller prop-driven planes to places like Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Presque Isle, Rutland and other communities. To handle this 'regional sort,' UPS built a sorting facility where packages coming in from the company's Louisville hub are redistributed to trucks or to the Wiggins feeder aircraft. FedEx previously used Manchester as a regional sorting station as well, but now supports the northern New England destinations via direct flights from Memphis to Portland, Maine and Burlington, Vermont. A contract with the U.S. Postal Service fills the FedEx jets (coming from hubs in Memphis and Indianapolis) with mail in addition to the typical assortment of express and overnight packages. DHL, the smallest of the dedicated freight carriers at Manchester, flies a single daily 727-200 on a Wilmington-Allentown-Manchester-Wilmington routing.

In April 2006, the aldermen of the city of Manchester voted to change the name of the airport to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in an effort to increase its visibility to travelers around the country.[3]

Facilities and aircraft

Manchester Airport covers an area of 1,500 acres (607 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 17/35 measuring 9,250 x 150 ft. (2,819 x 46 m) and 6/24 measuring 7,150 x 150 ft. (2,179 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2007, the airport had 93,138 aircraft operations, an average of 255 per day: 41% scheduled commercial, 31% air taxi, 27% general aviation and 1% military. There are 100 aircraft based at this airport: 75% single engine, 15% multi-engine and 10% jet aircraft.[1]

Airlines and destinations

Air cargo operators

Airport access

Manchester Shuttle

The Manchester-Boston Regional Airport operates a high-frequency shuttle bus program. The bus runs every two hours, 24 hours a day, between the airport, the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn, Massachusetts (45 minutes), and the Sullivan Square subway station in Boston (75 minutes). The shuttle bus also operates along the same route in reverse. The shuttle is offered free of charge to ticketed airline passengers. The shuttle was originally started on November 13, 2006 for a six month trial period.[4] Effective June 30, 2008, the free Manchester Shuttle to and from Woburn and Boston will cease operations. Effective July 1, 2008, Flight Line Inc. will offer hourly service between the airport, several points in northern Massachusetts and the City of Boston for $19 each way. Reservations are required.

Local bus service

The Manchester Transit Authority provides hourly bus service between the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport passenger terminal and downtown Manchester.

Highway access

In 2007, construction began on the Manchester Airport Access Road, an expressway connection from the F.E. Everett Turnpike. Prior to this project, access to the airport was limited to local roads. Completion is scheduled for late 2010.[5][6]

Law enforcement/security

The Londonderry Police Department is responsible for law enforcement and security operations at the airport terminal. The Rockingham County Sheriff's Department was responsible for law enforcement operations at the airport until last year when the Londonderry Police Department was awarded the new security contract.

References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for MHT PDF, effective 2007-07-05
  2. ^ pg 329-330 Manchester's Airport: Flying Through Time, Edward W. Browder, Jr. and Maurice B. Quirin ISBN 0-9721489-9-X
  3. ^ "History of Manchester • Boston Regional Airport". Manchester • Boston Regional Airport official site. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
  4. ^ Airport Announces Free Bus Service Between Woburn and Boston For Ticketed Passengers
  5. ^ Tollroads News (August 18, 2007). "Manchester NH Airport Access Rd under way". Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  6. ^ Jim Kozubek, New Hampshire Union Leader (August 18, 2007). "First phases of airport access road under way". Retrieved 2007-08-29.

William D. Feeny, In Their Honor: True Stories of Flyers for Whom United States Air Force Bases are Named, (New York: Dull, Sloane and Pearce, 1963; History, 82nd Fighter Wing, January 1-31, 1948; Charles A. Ravenstein, Air Force Combat Wings: Lineage and Honors Histories, 1947-1977 (Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1984); History of the First Air Force, 1 July-31 December 1949 and I January 1950 – 30 June 1950; Lloyd H. Cornett, Jr., and Mildred W. Johnson, A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946-1980 (Peterson AFB: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, 1980); “Aerospace World”, Air Force, January 1964; “List of Military Bases Affected by Economy Order”, New York Times, December 13, 1963. List of the U.S. Military Installations Affected by Secretary McNamara's Cutback Order, New York Times, November 20, 1964; History, Air Force Satellite Control Facility, New Hampshire, February 1, 1972. David Christopher Arnold, Spying from Space: Constructing America's Satellite Command and Control Systems (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005); James C. Wheeler, The EC-47 Experience (Clarksville, Ark.: Swearingen Ink, 1999).

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