Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once owned by the City of Worcester, the airport has been owned and operated by the

Massachusetts Port Authority Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an American port authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports—Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport—and public terminals i ...

(Massport) since June 2010. The airport code is believed to have originated from the word "Worcester". "W" cannot be used as the first letter of the identifier for airports in the United States, and "ORC" was already assigned. The origin of the "H" is unclear and might have been arbitrary.

History

Early years

Worcester's entry into the world of aviation began in 1925, when city officials commissioned a study to examine sites for the city's first airport. On the list of sites was land owned by a wealthy local citizen, Whitin Whitall. In 1927, Whitall, independently of the city commission, set up an airport on his land in North Grafton, above sea level. This two-runway airport opened for leisure travel on October 12, 1927. As air travel became more popular, airport expansion was the subject of a second study commissioned by the city. The Grafton airport was deemed too small to accommodate the air travel needs of the region. The location of the present airport, Tatnuck Hill, on the borders of Worcester, Leicester, and Paxton, was high on the commission's list. One problem noted by the commission was the weather: at above sea level, the Tatnuck site was often surrounded by fog. Despite this problem, the city eventually chose Tatnuck as the new site, and construction began in 1944. The airport was ceremoniously opened on May 4, 1946, and started regular passenger service one week later on May 10, 1946. That same year,

Northeast Airlines Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Del ...

was operating nonstop

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

service to New York

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Co ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Lawrence, MA Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and No ...

as well as direct one stop DC-3 service to Portland, ME. The Grafton airport remained in operation until 1951, when the owners, due to the dwindling traffic, decided to dismantle the airport. The land was redeveloped as a residential neighborhood. Leicester Airport, a small private airfield also built during the first half-century of aviation, was active until the 1970s. It still sits, now mostly overgrown in the shadow of Worcester Regional which in 1969 was served by

with

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

jet and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprop flights nonstop to New York

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

as well as to nearby

and Manchester, NH. Northeast Airlines was then acquired by and merged into

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

which in 1973 was continuing to serve Worcester with

jet service nonstop to New York

and Manchester, NH as well as direct, no change of plane DC-9 jet service to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. By late 1979, Delta was operating all of its flights into Worcester with

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

jetliners with nonstop flights to New York LaGuardia and Manchester in addition to direct, no change of plane 727 jet service to Boston,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, Jacksonville, FL,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. However, Delta was no longer serving the airport by the early 1980s. In 1981, two commuter airlines were serving Worcester: Bar Harbor Airlines operating Convair 600 and

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

turboprop aircraft with nonstop service from New York LaGuardia,

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

and Manchester, and Precision Airlines operating shuttle service into the airport with thirteen nonstop flights operated every weekday from

Boston Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

(BOS) flown with small Piper Navajo twin engine piston aircraft. Millions of dollars were spent replacing the old terminal, which hosted a half-dozen airlines before its demolition. In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, major carriers, such as

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Northwest Airlines, Continental, and

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

all flew mainline jets into Worcester. In addition, smaller carriers, like New York Air and Presidential Airways also had jet service. The small terminal had two ground level jetways built to accommodate the growth. One by one, those carriers left.

2000–2020

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

returned commercial service to ORH with flights to Orlando/Sanford, Florida (SFB) on December 22, 2005, and expanded to four flights per week in March 2006. Allegiant announced on August 22, 2006, that they would cut ties with the airport, citing high fuel costs and passenger loads in the 80% range as the reason for departure. The announcement of flights ending took people by surprise as service was popular and well-regarded by the flying public throughout Allegiant's entire tenure at the airport. On September 4, 2008, Direct Air announced they would begin service to Worcester beginning in November 2008, with flights from Orlando/Sanford, Florida and Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Florida. The flights were originally operated by

Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropol ...

using

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fam ...

aircraft. However, Direct Air was required to return the aircraft in June 2009 to suffice Virgin's rapidly expanding domestic routes. At this point, Direct Air began operating flights using

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

s owned by

Xtra Airways Avelo Airlines () is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'', before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebranding as Av ...

. Due to this being a wet-lease agreement, there were times where the aircraft was unavailable and other aircraft had to be chartered for the flights. Such examples include service with

from USA 3000 and

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maid ...

from North American Airlines. In March 2009, Direct Air added additional flights to Myrtle Beach, SC. In July 2010, Direct Air expanded their Worcester service further to

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

. The airline had further plans to launch flights to

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

, and

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, but in March 2012 Direct Air suspended all operations and later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 12, 2012. On April 3, 2013,

JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

announced daily flights to

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, and

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

, starting November 7, 2013. This came after over a year of negotiating with the airline that included a competition among local residents to help advertise the city. This became the first mainline service out of Worcester in over a decade. The airline currently uses the 100-seat

Embraer 190 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...

for their flights, although occasionally they are substituted for the 162-seat

. A revamp of the defunct airline Air Florida had planned to fly out of Worcester at the beginning of 2015 as a scheduled charter operation. However, the airline never got off the ground. Worcester Airport

On November 17, 2015,

Rectrix Aviation Rectrix Aviation was a jet charter and commuter airline service that primarily served New England, Florida and the east coast of the United States. Its commercial operations were primarily based at Nantucket Memorial Airport and Barnstable Muni ...

opened a new

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

building and hangar in Worcester. Rectrix also launched flights between Worcester and

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

in the summer of 2017 with their newly established commercial airline operation, Rectrix Shuttle. After two summers Rectrix replaced Worcester with Westchester County Airport on their route map ending the service after two summers due to low demand. On February 28, 2017, JetBlue announced it would expand its service at the airport, adding a daily non-stop flight to New York City. JetBlue did not provide a start date, but airline officials said the new flights would not begin until after the landing system was operational. The first revenue flight to New York left Worcester at 6 AM on May 3, 2018. Despite the same reliability found at Logan with the new landing system flights to JFK after three years have been 40-50 percent full. Although JetBlue had later suspended all flights due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, the airline had announced intentions to resume services at the airport in the future, later announcing service would resume in August 2021. On April 9, 2018,

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

announced it would begin daily non-stop service from Worcester to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

on October 4, 2018. On June 4, American Airlines announced it would add a second daily flight and would be changing the schedule of the initial flight. The service would operate twice-daily on 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s. Despite the efforts to add an additional frequency, Piedmont announced in February, only four months into service, a reduction to only one daily flight, starting in June 2019 due to low demand. American has since ended service to Worcester as of June 2020. On August 28, 2018,

announced it would begin daily non-stop service from Worcester to

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in the United States covering effective December 30, 2021. in Romulus, Michigan. It is the primary ...

, operated by Delta Connection, which began on August 1, 2019, using 50-seat CRJ-200s.

2020–present

On January 25, 2020, Delta announced it would begin cutting back flights by dropping its Saturday flight due to low demand. There was initially speculation that the Saturday flight would possibly return in May, but the future of service remained uncertain, with Delta experiencing 50-60 percent loads to Detroit. By late 2020, as with airports across the rest of the country, Worcester was concentrated on the return to service prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

had suspended service indefinitely, while

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

had once again removed Worcester from its route map and ended service after only two years, leaving Delta as the last airline operating out of Worcester to maintain minimum service through the

CARES Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, ...

. Although JetBlue had announced intentions to return in the future, both Delta and JetBlue were no longer required to do so by the government after October 1, 2020, once the CARES Act expired. On January 13, 2021, within the documentation for their Northeast Agreement alliance with

, it was initially confirmed that JetBlue's station at the airport was closed permanently, along with

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

and

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, once again leaving Worcester with no scheduled commercial service. JetBlue later announced on May 26, 2021, that it would resume service at the airport, though service to Orlando has yet to resume.

on August 18, 2021, announced that it would also resume service at the airport through its regional franchise Delta Connection with 75 seats.

announced on August 28, 2021, that it would resume service to Philadelphia in November, with flights operated by regional franchise American Eagle. However, this was short lived because American announced that they would move its flight from Philadelphia to its hub at New York-Kennedy so it could use their larger Embraer 175's which allowed for premium service and more connections through JetBlue's base at Kennedy and their hub at Kennedy under the Northeast Alliance.

Massport

The airport had been under an operating agreement with Massport, the

, for several years. Under the agreement, the city and Massport paid the operating deficit together. * July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005 – Massport pays 100% of operating deficit not including debt service * July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006 – Massport pays 85% of operating deficit not including debt service * July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007 – Massport pays 68% of operating deficit not including debt service By law, Worcester had to transfer ownership of the airport to Massport sometime in 2009 or 2010. As of July 1, 2010, Massport became the owner and operator of the airport.

Other uses

Worcester Regional Airport was used for shooting of the films '' Captain Phillips'', '' Knight and Day'', '' The Judge'' and ''

The Sea of Trees ''The Sea of Trees'' is a 2015 American drama mystery film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Chris Sparling. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, Naomi Watts, Katie Aselton and Jordan Gavaris. The film is about an American m ...

''.

Facilities

Worcester Regional Airport covers 1,000 acres (4 km²) and has two runways: 11/29 is 7,001 x 150 ft (2,134 x 46 m) and 15/33 is 5,000 x 100 ft (1,524 x 30 m). Runways 11 and 29 have ILS equipment. EMAS pads are located at the starting thresholds of runways 11 and 29. The airport passenger terminal has a total of six gates, four with jetways and two ramp level gates for regional carriers. The gates can accommodate aircraft ranging up to a Boeing 757 in size. The terminal has two baggage carousels and a

TSA The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

installed passenger and baggage screening system on the first floor. The airport is equipped to handle up to 250,000 passengers a year in the current configuration and can seat up to 400 passengers at any given time. Currently, the airport has four ticket counters, 2 baggage claims, and three on-site rental car companies. Currently, parking is free at Worcester Regional until September 30, 2022. Two Mirage Express cafes are located inside the airport.

WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...

operates a doppler

weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly pulse- ...

station at the airport. Ross Aviation is the

at the airport.

Category III landing system

On April 28, 2016, Massport approved funding for the installation of a Category IIIb

instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

at ORH. The geographic location of the airport, on top of the tallest hill in the city reaching approximately 1,000 feet above sea level, leaves Worcester on average with 40 more days of fog a year than nearby Boston. The installation of the Category IIIb landing system will allow capable aircraft to land and depart in virtually all weather conditions. The installation of the landing system also included the addition of a jug-handle taxiway at the approach end of Runway 11. The ILS system was completed in December 2017 and went live on March 19, 2018. Completion of the ILS allowed

to add a flight from Worcester to New York-JFK, operated with an

aircraft capable of autoland. The same aircraft is used for flights to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando likewise are also able to use the ILS. However, American's flight to

was operated by an

Embraer 145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

aircraft which was not able to use the newly installed Category III system which led to many weather cancellations and diversions during their second brief tenure.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Historical service

, 1946–1972 (merged with Delta Air Lines) *

Mohawk Airlines Mohawk Airlines was a regional airline, regional passenger airline operating in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, mainly in New York and Pennsylvania, from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airli ...

, 1965–1971 (merged with Allegheny Airlines) *Statewide Airlines, 1965–1966 * Executive Airlines, 1969–1972 *

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself me ...

, 1971–1975 *

, 1972–1980, 2019–2020, 2021– *Pilgrim Airlines, 1974–1975 *Precision Airlines, 1978–1981 * Bar Harbor Airlines, 1980–1998 * Piedmont Airlines, 1986–1989 (merged with US Airways) * Continental, 1987–1988 *

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

, 1988–1990 *

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

, 1988–2003 *

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

, 1990–1998 *

Carnival Air Lines Carnival Air Lines Incorporated was a charter and scheduled airline division of the Carnival Corporation & plc that started in 1988 after Carnival Cruise Lines purchased Pacific Interstate Airlines. It was headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida. ...

, 1993–1994 *Florida Shuttle, 1993–1994 *

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

, 1998 (April–November) *

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

, 2001–2002 *

, 2000–2002, 2018–2020, 2021– *

, 2005–2006 * Direct Air, 2008–2012 *

, 2013–2020, 2021– * Rectrix Shuttle, 2017–2018 Source:

Historical service

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Source:

Statistics

For 12-month period ending July 23, 2017, the airport had 36,032 aircraft operations, an average of 99 per day: 91%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 4% scheduled commercial, 3%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and 3%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

. In January 2018, there were 74 aircraft based at this airport: 69 single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

and 5 multi-engine. On June 10, 2016, JetBlue and the City of Worcester celebrated the 300,000th passenger since beginning service in 2013. At its peak in 1989, Worcester Airport served about 354,000 passengers in a single year. In 2009, the airport served fewer than 50,000 passengers, though 107,000 passengers used the airport in 2011 and 192,000 in 2019. During the COVID pandemic which slowed air travel across the globe, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that for the period from 1 September 2019 through 31 August 2020, the airport managed to serve over 106,000 passengers, with JetBlue transporting more than 75% of all passengers.

Accidents and incidents

On the morning of October 25, 2015, Dr. Gary Weller crashed his light Mooney M20M plane into nearby woods while attempting to take off in cold weather on Runway 11. The crash, which occurred just south of the airport, was caused by a mechanical crankshift failure, which caused the plane's engine to lose power and subsequently the plane to stall. While there were no ground injuries, Dr. Weller died on the scene. On February 2, 2021, a Piper PA-46 from Martha's Vineyard crashed in nearby Leicester while attempting an emergency landing at ORH. No one on the ground was injured, but the pilot and two others on board were injured in the crash.

Top destinations

Ground transportation

Four rental car agencies are located in the terminal building at Worcester Regional Airport. Avis, Budget,

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that o ...

, and Thrifty all have concession stands across from the baggage claim. The

Worcester Regional Transit Authority Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) is a public, non-profit organization charged with providing public transportation to the city of Worcester, Massachusetts and the surrounding towns. The WRTA was created in September 1974 under Chapter ...

(WRTA)'s route #2 bus connects Union Station, a regional

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 stati ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

, and bus transportation hub in the Downtown Worcester district, with the airport. Union Station is the western terminus of the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network ...

's Framingham/Worcester Line, with eastbound service to

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

and

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan ...

in Boston. Additionally, service via Amtrak's '' Lake Shore Limited'' Boston section to/from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

, with connections to Chicago (formerly also the ''

Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

''s '' Inland Route'') stops at this location, as does intercity (

Peter Pan Bus Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates service to/from to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hamps ...

), ( Greyhound Bus Lines), and other local WRTA bus services at Union Station. The airport presently lacks a direct connection to an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

. However, a number of interstate routes such as I-290,

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

I-190 Interstate 190 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States related to Interstate 90: * Interstate 190 (Illinois), a spur into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport *Interstate 190 (Massachusetts), a spur from Worcester to Le ...

I-395 Interstate 395 may refer to: * Interstate 395 (Connecticut–Massachusetts), a spur from I-95 to Auburn, Massachusetts *Interstate 395 (Delaware), a proposed portion of I-95 in Delaware, when it was under construction *Interstate 395 (Florida), a sp ...

, I-495, and routes: MA-9, MA-122, and MA-146 provide access through smaller access roads. Travel time to reach the airport is approximately 5–10 minutes after exiting Interstate I-290, Worcester's primary access via interstate highway from the north and the south also with direct access to the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

References

External links

Worcester Regional Airport
(official website) *
The Economic Impact of Worcester Regional Airport (ORH)

Worcester Regional Flight Academy
* * {{Blackstone Valley Massachusetts Port Authority Airports in Worcester County, Massachusetts Transportation in Worcester, Massachusetts Leicester, Massachusetts