McGovern: Feds commit to upgraded airport landing system

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By Rick Saia

The federal government is committing to the installation of an upgraded landing and navigation system that will improve visibility for pilots who land aircraft at Worcester Regional Airport, according to U.S. Rep. James McGovern.

McGovern told a gathering of city political and business leaders this morning that he received a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it will proceed with a “state of the art” system, called a Category III, or CAT III.

The Worcester Democrat said the system “will increase the chances” for flights – especially the current commercial passenger carrier, JetBlue – to land safely.
McGovern added that the CAT III system can also boost the chances for JetBlue, which now flies two round-trip flights daily between Worcester and Florida, to offer more flights and bring in more carriers to Worcester.

“We have (gotten) over the hump … where the glory days are ahead of us,” he said during the gathering at the DCU Center.

Richard Walah, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), the state agency that runs the airport, said it will be several years before the CAT III will be installed since it must go through a planning and environmental review process first.

Last year, when JetBlue announced it would fly out of Worcester, Massport said the CAT III system would cost about $35 million.

Improving visibility at the airport has been a top priority for Massport. Last month, Massport and the FAA identified and removed trees from the runway and approach areas. Officials have been talking about securing a CAT III system for the last two years, since former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood visited Worcester to survey the city’s transit infrastructure.

Recalling that visit this morning, McGovern said Lahood was instrumental in pushing for the CAT III and also called JetBlue to try and sell the airline on Worcester.

JetBlue launched daily service between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in November. In the nearly four months since, about 30,000 passengers have used the service, which exceeded Massport’s expectation of 20,000, according to Timothy P. Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“The fact that people have voted with their feet is evident in the numbers,” Murray told the gathering this morning.