Manchester–Boston Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||
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 Aerial photo taken April 11, 1998 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Manchester | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | State of New Hampshire Greater Boston | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Manchester andLondonderry,New Hampshire,U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 266 ft / 81 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°55′57″N071°26′08″W / 42.93250°N 71.43556°W /42.93250; -71.43556 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
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 FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Manchester–Boston Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1][2][3][4] | |||||||||||||||
Manchester–Boston Regional Airport (IATA:MHT,ICAO:KMHT,FAALID:MHT), informally referred to asManchester Airport, is a public useairport 3 miles (5 km) south of thecentral business district ofManchester,New Hampshire,United States[1] on the border ofHillsborough andRockingham counties. It is owned by the city of Manchester, and is in the southern part of the city on the border withLondonderry, New Hampshire.
Opened in 1927, Manchester–Boston Regional Airport is by far thebusiest airport in New Hampshire, with ten times the traffic of the next-busiest,Portsmouth. It is the only airport in the state with substantial commercial service. It is alsoNew England's fifth-largest airport by passenger volume, behindBoston Logan in Massachusetts;Bradley International in Connecticut;T. F. Green in Rhode Island; andPortland International Jetport in Maine. It moved more than 1 million passengers in a year for the first time in 1997. After years of growth, it handled 4.33 million passengers in 2005, its peak year. Passenger tallies have declined since then, similarly with many regional airports; it handled 1.85 million passengers in 2018,[5] and traffic fell sharply during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
It is included in theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA)National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it iscategorized as a small hub primary commercial service facility.[6] The facility was known as Manchester Airport until April 18, 2006, when it added "Boston Regional" to advertise its proximity to Boston, about 50 miles (80 km) to the south. Certified forCat III B Instrument Landing operations, the airport has a reputation for never surrendering to bad weather. The airport has closed only once, when the national airspace was shut down for two days following theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks, after which all American airports were required to close.[7] It is home to theAviation Museum of New Hampshire, built around anArt Decocontrol tower, and its terminal opened in 1938.
Manchester–Boston is New England's third-largestcargo airport behind Connecticut'sBradley International, which is a hub forUPS Airlines, and Logan in Boston.FedEx,UPS andAmazon all serve Manchester with cargo-specific jets, including theAirbus A300,Boeing 757,Boeing 767 andBoeing 737.
UPS uses Manchester to "feed" the rest of northern New England by contracting withWiggins Airways,[8]which flies smaller prop-driven planes to places likePortland,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'sLouisville 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 fromMemphis, Tennessee, to Portland andBurlington. A contract with thePostal Service fills the FedEx jets (coming from hubs in Memphis andIndianapolis) with mail in addition to the typical assortment of express and overnight packages. DHL previously operated a727-200 on aWilmington, Ohio-Allentown, Pennsylvania-Manchester-Wilmington routing, but that service has since ceased.
In November 2022,Amazon Air operated byAtlas Air began flying into Manchester utilizingBoeing 767 andBoeing 737 aircraft fromFort Worth Alliance Airport andCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Nightly flights arrive fromFort Worth Alliance Airport andCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Manchester and back toCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport andFort Worth Alliance Airport in the early morning hours.
Manchester Boston Regional Airport covers an area of 1,500 acres (610 ha), which contains twoasphaltrunways: Runway 17/35 measuring 9,250 x 150 ft (2,819 x 46 m) and Runway 6/24 measuring 7,651 x 150 ft (2,332 x 46 m).[1][9]
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2021, the airport had 32,845 aircraft operations, an average of 90 per day: 33%commercial, 26%air taxi, 39%general aviation and 2%military. In November 2021, there were 89 aircraft based at this airport: 50 single-engine, 21 multi-engine, 12jet and 6helicopter.[1]
The Manchester airport was founded in June 1927, when the city's Board of Mayor and Aldermen put $15,000 towards the project. By October, a board ofaviation had been founded, and ground was broken at an 84-acre (34 ha) site near Pine Island Pond. It took only a month for two 1,800-foot (550 m)runways to be constructed. The board of aviation convinced George G. "Scotty" Wilson, a barnstormer operating out ofBoston, to move to New Hampshire and start Manchester's first flying service. After the formation ofNortheast Airways at the site in 1933, the first passenger terminal was built.
In 1940, as the U.S. entered World War II, the airport was chosen as an Army Air Force base. At its peak, some 6,000 troops were stationed there, including the45th Bombardment Group – which practiced bombing runs on what is nowNew Boston Air Force Station – and an anti-submarine squadron that destroyed at least two Nazi subs off the U.S. Atlantic coast.[10] It was renamed Grenier Field after Manchester native Lt. Jean B. Grenier, who died in a training mission in 1934. Civilian use returned in 1951 when Northeast Airways resumed flights.
The current Manchester airport began to take shape as a joint civil-military facility in the 1960s. A new civilian terminal and the first modern air traffic control tower in New Hampshire were constructed in 1961. Businessman Roscoe A. Ammon donated $500,000 for the construction of the new air terminal. In 1966, the Air Force removed its remaining forces and closed Grenier Air Force Base, leaving the airport open for expansion. In 1978 the airfield was renamedManchester Airport.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the airport was served byNortheast Airlines with theConvair CV-240,Douglas DC-9, andFokker FH-227.Delta Air Lines absorbed Northeast in 1972 and continued to serve the airport with the DC-9 until 1978, thenBoeing 727-200s until 1980 when it discontinued service at Manchester.
In the mid-1980s, airlines once again started offeringjet service out of Manchester.United Airlines inaugurated service at Manchester in 1983 with two daily flights toChicago–O'Hare. This was part of their 50 States campaign, which positioned United as the only carrier to serve all 50 states with mainline service. TheBoeing 727 andBoeing 737 were initially used on theChicago flights, which would often make intermediate stops in cities likeProvidence,Albany,Syracuse, andBurlington to pick up or drop off passengers. Manchester was also a "tag-on" for United flights heading fromBangor andPortland, Maine, to Chicago, but the carrier no longer serves either city with mainline aircraft.
In the early 1990s,United Airlines began flights between Manchester andDulles International Airport nearWashington, D.C. But creation of a north–south hub at Dulles did not work for United, and heavy competition in this market led to a quick exit. TheBoeing 737 was used for this short-lived service, which comprised about four daily circuits between the two airports.US Airways started service at Manchester in early 1986, by connecting their hubs atPittsburgh andPhiladelphia. The carrier used theDC-9,BAC 111, and737-200 aircraft. Both carriers expanded service at Manchester over the years with larger planes and more flights. United now runs a strict non-stop schedule to and fromChicago with no intermediate stops or tag-ons. The757 has been used by both United and US Airways at Manchester, which stands as the largest passenger-carrying plane to serve the airport in scheduled service. TheAirbus A320 series of aircraft is also commonly used by United,Northwest Airlines (merged withDelta Air Lines), and occasionally by US Airways. In April 2010, Delta enhanced service to Manchester; it dropped its dailyCRJ-700 service toAtlanta and replaced the aircraft with anMD-88 with seating for 149. Delta also switched all its Delta Connection service toDetroit with mainline service onDC-9's. On October 7, 2021,Spirit Airlines began serving Manchester[11] with the Airbus A320, making it one of 3 airlines regularly serving Manchester with mainline aircraft.Southwest serves Manchester with the Boeing 737-700 and the Boeing 737-800.American flies the Airbus A319/20 from Charlotte.
In 1992, a long-term expansion and improvement plan started to take shape. Two years later, a new 158,000-square-foot (14,700 m2) terminal designed byHNTB and Lavallee Brensinger opened, providing ample room for larger jets.[12] The airport continued to expand, opening a new parking garage and parking lots in the next years, as well as working to reconstruct therunways andtaxiways. In 1998, these expansions paid off, withMetroJet,Northwest, andSouthwest all beginning service. The airport prospered from the "Southwest Effect", in which competing airlines increase service and decrease fares to compete with thelow-cost carrier. Throughout the 1990s, Manchester outpaced almost every other similarly sized airport in terms of passenger growth. In 2003, Runway 17/35 was extended from 7,001 feet (2,134 m) to 9,250 feet (2,820 m), allowing non-stop service toLas Vegas.
In April 2006, thealdermen 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.[13]
In 2006 the airport started to experience a decrease in passengers flying through its facility, with service to only twelve cities. In 2017, the airport served the fewest passengers since 1998. United Airlines canceled its Chicago O'Hare service in July 2018, making Newark its only destination from Manchester, which was replaced by Washington Dulles in March 2019. In 2020 Delta consolidated its service to Boston. Southwest as of 2021 has diminished service to four cities, withDelta Air Lines serving Atlanta once daily instead of twice.[citation needed]
The decline in service is due to increased activity atLogan International Airport in Boston and to mergers between airlines, which led to decreased flights. When Southwest entered Logan in 2009, it also significantly reduced prices at Logan, prompting more people to fly out of Boston rather than Manchester.[14]
The airport administration hired a new airport director in 2018[15] to help it bring back passengers to Manchester, as well as to help bring in new airlines and destinations.[14] Subsequent years have seen many changes in service at the airport.
In 2019, American Airlines announced service to Chicago O'Hare after United discontinued its O'Hare service. United announced service to Washington-Dulles instead of Newark in March 2019, but ended it on January 4, 2022.[16]
In November 2020, Delta Air Lines announced that they would discontinue service to MHT.[17]
On February 9, 2021, Aeroterm announced that it would develop a new cargo facility at the airport.[18]
On June 16, 2021, Spirit Airlines announced it would be starting service to four Florida cities in October; it later announced that seasonal service to Myrtle Beach would start April 2022. Spirit was the first new airline to begin service at Manchester-Boston sinceAir Canada in 2004.[19][20] However, in 2024 the airline discontinued all MHT service.[21]
In November 2022,Amazon Air, operated byAtlas Air, began service fromCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport usingBoeing 767 aircraft; current operations now include a flight fromPerot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which then continues toCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
On March 15, 2023Avelo Airlines announced nonstop service toRaleigh–Durham International Airport twice weekly, utilizing theBoeing 737-800. Later on February 15, 2024, Avelo Airlines announced a new route toGreenville/Spartanburg.[22]
On February 20, 2024,Sun Country Airlines announced seasonal, once a week service to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.[23]
On February 27, 2024,Breeze Airways announced their intention to serve the airport to three cities, with the first two to Orlando and Charleston beginning on June 14, 2024, and Fort Myers beginning later in October. Breeze also offers a one-stop "BreezeThru" service to Tampa via Charleston, South Carolina.[24]
On July 24, 2024,JetBlue announced that they were beginning service out of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport starting in 2025. JetBlue said it will offer daily service to Orlando, Florida, three times weekly service to Fort Myers, Florida and four times weekly service to Fort Lauderdale, Florida starting in January 2025.[25]
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Baltimore, Maryland | 193,660 | Southwest |
| 2 |  Orlando, Florida | 89,240 | Breeze, Southwest, JetBlue |
| 3 |  Charlotte, North Carolina | 71,380 | American |
| 4 |  Washington–National, D.C. | 64,840 | American |
| 5 |  Chicago–Midway, Illinois | 58,980 | Southwest |
| 6 |  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 50,150 | American |
| 7 |  Newark, New Jersey | 22,650 | United |
| 8 | Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina | 17,600 | Avelo |
| 9 | Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 16,440 | American |
| 10 | Tampa, Florida | 11,430 | Southwest |
| Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest | 667,000 | 51.40% |
| 2 | PSA | 272,000 | 20.99% |
| 3 | Piedmont | 84,210 | 6.49% |
| 4 | Avelo | 74,110 | 5.71% |
| 5 | Breeze | 47,280 | 3.64% |
| Other | 152,000 | 11.76% |
| 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s | ||||||||
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| Year | Passengers | Change | Year | Passengers | Change | Year | Passengers | Change | Year | Passengers | Change |
| 2000 | 3,169,301 |  12.82% | 2010 | 2,814,432 |  11.53% | 2020 | 634,841 | 62.6% | |||
| 2001 | 3,233,555 | 2.03% | 2011 | 2,710,747 | 3.68% | 2021 | 944,147 | 48.7% | |||
| 1992 | 840,361 | — | 2002 | 3,366,834 | 4.12% | 2012 | 2,452,064 | 9.54% | 2022 | 1,301,952 | 35.7% |
| 1993 | 794,134 | 5.5% | 2003 | 3,601,661 | 6.97% | 2013 | 2,422,102 | 1.22% | 2023 | 1,283,487 | 0.9% |
| 1994 | 919,914 | 15.84% | 2004 | 4,003,307 | 11.15% | 2014 | 2,095,674 | 13.48% | 2024 | 1,272,689 | 0.7% |
| 1995 | 893,326 | 2.89% | 2005 | 4,329,478 | 8.15% | 2015 | 2,077,064 | 0.86% | |||
| 1996 | 984,130 | 10.16% | 2006 | 3,896,532 | 10% | 2016 | 2,021,279 | 2.50% | |||
| 1997 | 1,108,216 | 12.61% | 2007 | 3,892,630 | 0.1% | 2017 | 1,970,688 | 2.50% | |||
| 1998 | 1,938,089 | 74.88% | 2008 | 3,716,393 | 4.53% | 2018 | 1,847,908 | 6.2% | |||
| 1999 | 2,809,089 | 44.94% | 2009 | 3,181,249 | 14.40% | 2019 | 1,727,532 | 6.5% | |||
In 2007, construction began onRaymond Wieczorek Drive (then known as Manchester Airport Access Road), an expressway connection from theF.E. Everett Turnpike.[40] Before this project, access to the airport was limited to local roads offInterstate 293/NH Route 101. The access road opened on November 10, 2011, connecting the airport andNH Route 3A inLitchfield with the Everett Turnpike andU.S. Route 3 inBedford.[41]
From November 13, 2006, to June 30, 2008, the airport operated a shuttle bus — free to ticketed passengers — that ran every two hours, 24 hours a day, to theAnderson Regional Transportation Center inWoburn, Massachusetts (45 minutes), on to theSullivan Square subway station inBoston (75 minutes), and back to the airport via Woburn.[42] The free service shut down after a private company, Flight Line Inc., began operating a paid service along similar routes on July 1, 2008. Flight Line offers hourly service between the airport, several points in northern Massachusetts, and the city of Boston for $39 each way. Reservations are required.[43]
Greyhound buses offer three trips daily from Manchester Airport on itsBoston–Montreal service. Buses serveConcord andHanover in New Hampshire;White River Junction,Montpelier, andBurlington in Vermont; andSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Montreal in Quebec, Canada, when going northbound. They serveSouth Station andLogan International Airport in Boston on the southbound trips.
TheManchester Transit Authority provides hourly bus service between the passenger terminal and downtown Manchester.
A proposed extension of theMBTACommuter Rail system'sLowell Line would see trains that currently terminate at Lowell running as far north as Manchester.[44] The proposed Bedford/MHT Station would be constructed across the Merrimack River in Bedford underneath Raymond Wieczorek Drive, and would be intended to serve the airport and the town of Bedford.[45]
The New Hampshire State Rail Plan of 2012 stated that freight could also be viable on the rail extension, perhaps opening up more freight opportunities for the airport.[46]
The town ofLondonderry's police are responsible for law enforcement and security operations at the airport terminal. The sheriff's department ofRockingham County was responsible for law enforcement operations at the airport until 2006 when the Londonderry Police Department was awarded the new security contract.
The Airport Fire Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, consisting of 4 on-duty personnel who work a 48-hour work week. All personnel are fully qualified NFPA structural firefighters and have acquired a follow on specialized course in aircraft rescue firefighting. All employees are certified National Registry Emergency Medical Technicians ranging from the basic level through paramedic.
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On June 3, 1928, at 3:02 p.m., Lt. George Wilson'sCurtiss OX-5 nosedived 40 feet (12 m) and crashed at the south end of the airport while landing before thousands of onlookers. Wilson received a gash on the face, and one passenger was pinned in the wreckage and sustainedshock, cuts and bruises. The cause of the crash was a motor failure, and the plane was badly crumpled with its nose buried deeply in a swamp.
On February 19, 1933, Real N. Bourke died when theArrow Sport two-seater he had hired from Northeast Airways burst into flames a quarter mile north of Manchester Airport on the Boone Farm. He had made a number of steep banks and wing-overs, and his landing gear struck a gully prior to the crash. It was Manchester's first fatality.
On August 5, 1938, at about 6:15 p.m., student pilot Avalon Robert Lilly Jr. was injured when aWACO biplane, powered by a Wright Whirlwind motor, attempted a loop 400 feet (120 m) off the ground, but fell and crashed 200 feet (61 m) from the Manchester Airport Administration Building. The plane belonged to Donald Lewis, who was at the controls and suffered major injuries. Lilly later died on August 12, 1938.
On December 10, 1942, afighter plane connected to Manchester Airport (Grenier Field) crashed inMont Vernon around noon; the unidentified pilot was uninjured.
On April 24, 1944, at 9:00 a.m., a four-motored ArmyB-24 Liberator bomber (#42-5111) took off from Manchester Airport and crashed into a densely wooded area on Fort Mountain nearEpsom, killing all 10 crew on board.[47][48]
On November 29, 1944, at 9:30 a.m., another Army B-24L (#44-49669) crashed nose-first inPawtuckaway State Forest in Nottingham, 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Manchester, killing all nine crew. It had taken off from Manchester and was headed toGander, Newfoundland, Canada.
On August 5, 1948, at 5:00 p.m., anAT-11 training plane and anA-26 attack bomber collided over Manchester airport, killing four.
On June 7, 1949, at 8:43 p.m., 1st Lt. William A. Primm of the97th Fighter Squadron died during a routine training flight when he attempted an emergency landing and crashed hisF-51 fighter at the end of Runway 24.
On April 22, 1971, at 5:00 pm, an 18-year-old single-engineBeechcraft Bonanza, registered to New England Aviation Corp., crashed during takeoff, killing four people (one crew, three passengers).
On July 31, 1973,Delta Air Lines Flight 723 fromBurlington, Vermont, toBoston was diverted to Manchester to pick up passengers stranded by a flight cancellation. After leaving Manchester it continued to Boston, but during landing there theMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 hit a sea wall at the end of Runway 4, killing 83 passengers and six crew.[49]
On October 3, 1979, a small private plane carryingAgnetha Fältskog of the Swedish pop bandABBA was traveling on one of the last legs of their 1979 North American tour (New York City toBoston). The plane flew through one of the worst severe storms in recent Connecticut history. It is speculated that the plane may have encountered a tornado during this event. It was able to make a diversion to Manchester landing on a second attempt while low on fuel. This was a key moment in starting Fältskog's fear of air travel.[50]
On November 2, 1990, US Airways Flight 506 toPittsburgh collided with a flock of birds after takeoff. No one was injured and theDC-9 returned safely to MHT.
On January 22, 1991, at 10:10 am,Continental Express Flight 3550 fromNewark went off runway 7. No one was injured and the cause of the crash was ruled to be a hydraulic steering mechanism failure.
On November 8, 2005, AirNow Air Cargo Flight 352 crashed after a refueling stop on a flight fromEssex County Airport inFairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey toBangor International Airport,Bangor, Maine. The aircraft suffered a failure of the left engine upon takeoff, resulting in an uncontrolled left descent. TheEmbraer 110 crashed into aWalmart Garden Center approximately one-half mile (0.80 km) north of the airport, shearing off both wings upon impact. The pilot was helped from the wreckage by customers and employees of the Garden Center.[51]
On September 23, 2020,Air Force 2, a modifiedBoeing 757 carrying then U.S. Vice PresidentMike Pence on a flight from Manchester to Washington, D.C., suffered abird strike while climbing out of the airport. The airplane returned safely and the former Vice President and his staff flew out on a cargo airplane later that day. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.[52]
On January 19, 2021, a Piper Malibu Meridian (registration N641WA) flying in fromOlathe, Kansas, skidded off the runway while landing. Emergency services were dispatched to the aircraft's location, and the pilot and passengers all made it out with no major injuries.[53]
On December 10, 2021, a Castle AirSwearingen Metroliner, flying in fromEssex County Airport inNew Jersey, crashed into the western bank of theMerrimack River, while attempting to land on runway 6 around 11:30 pm. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed upon impact.[54]
On January 5, 2022, aFedExBoeing 767 Bound forMemphis slid off taxiway H due to an ice storm and struck the airport'sanemometer around 9:00 am. No injuries were reported and the left wing of the plane received moderate damage. This event led to a three-hour-long shutdown of airport operations.[55]
On January 26, 2024, aWiggins Airways flight toPresque Isle International Airport, Wiggins Air Flight 1046, crashed shortly after takeoff, injuring the pilot.[56] The aircraft was involved was aBeechcraft Model 99. It was totally destroyed after a nearly level descent into a wooded area close to a residential building, although no fire ensued.[57][58]
In 2012, south-facing solar panels were installed on the roof of the parking garage, but they caused so much glare for the nearby control tower for 45 minutes each morning that they were removed, and later replaced with 2,210 panels (460 kW AC) that were reoriented to the east to eliminate the glare. The airport expects to save $100,000 each year on electricity by having the solar panels. The efficiency of east or west facing panels is reduced by about 10%, so more panels were added so the total generation would be about the same. The array is expected to generate about 585,000 kWh each year.[59][60][25]
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