May 17, 2001
By Barbara Forster, Correspondent
Chanting "take off and don't come back" over and over, residents
opposed to
further expansion of commercial airline service at Hanscom Field brought the
monthly meeting of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission to an abrupt halt
Tuesday night at Bedford Town Hall.
Commission Chairman and Lincoln Selectman Sara Mattes adjourned the meeting
when dozens of residents refused to stop marching around the room calling
for an end to commercial airline service.
The message was directed at representatives of Midway Airlines, Pan American
Airlines and US Airways who were at the meeting to discuss plans to offer
service from the field to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., the Cape and Islands, and
Philadelphia, respectively.
Joan Goldman of Lexington, a one-time commission chairman and co-founder of
People Against Hanscom Expansion - the predecessor to the ShhAir activist
group - led the protesters, explaining that stopping the meeting was
intentional.
"We were not going to sit here in a sham and pretend to be in a process
with
wind-up toys speaking," she said. "We would rather the meeting adjourn
than
participate in a sham. Has an orderly meeting ever stopped the airlines? We
had nothing to lose."
Adding Kay Tiffany of ShhAir: "This (demonstration) has an influence on
airlines coming in to Hanscom. It's a warning of what is ahead for them."
Commission member Tom Hoban, president of East Coast Aviation, disagreed.
"This accomplished nothing tonight," he said, pointing out that the
commission was unable to formulate any opinion that could be forwarded to
Massport.
The next Hanscom Field Advisory Commission meeting is scheduled for two days
before a Massport Board of Directors meeting in which members may decide
whether to accept the airlines proposals.
"This evening the communities chose not to have a dialogue (about possible
airline service)," said Massport representative Richard Walsh, whom
protesters hissed at during his introduction. "The airlines were here to
discuss the type of service they are proposing."
Although Mattes was disappointed that many people missed the opportunity to
express their opinion, she noted that the demonstration reflected the anger
about and opposition to commercial airline service at Hanscom.
Created by the legislature in 1980, the commission advises Massport on
matters that affect Hanscom Field. Massport, however, is not required
legally to follow the commission's advice or directives which have no
budget; Massport picks up the tab for various secretarial duties.
The commission has five member categories: local citizen groups concerned
with problems related to aviation and transportation, area environmental
groups, other area towns affected by Hanscom, businesses with aircraft at
the field, and aviation related businesses.
Amidst boos, hisses and comments from the audience about possible airline
payoffs, Concord resident Edith Sisson emerged as the only speaker who
supported additional commercial airline service at Hanscom.
"I'm glad there might be local air transportation with quick and easy
access
right around the corner," she said. "We cannot bury our heads in the
sand so
that other communities bear the brunt of our needs for aircraft (service)."
Midway Airlines Executive Vice President and General Manager Steven Westberg
opened the series of airline presentations which were peppered with derisive
comments from the audience.
"We are in the early stages of studying flights to Raleigh-Durham," he
said,
adding that the airline has yet to file its plans with the Federal Aviation
Administration.
Westberg said Massport "asked us to think about alternative airports and we
are studying that inside the company. "Midway proposes three daily flights,
which means six to-and-from operations on 50-seat planes.
Pan Am, which would operate under its subsidiary, Boston-Maine Airways,
wants to run four daily flights on 19-seat planes to the Cape and Islands
during the summer and change the route to New York City in winter. The
airline is already operating out of Worcester.
US Airways presented the most intensive schedule: four daily non-stop
flights to Philadelphia and three to LaGuardia Airport in New York using
37-seat, twin-engine turbojets starting sometime in August.
Shuttle America currently has 22 operations and plans to add another 12 in
the next few weeks. A flight "operation" is defined as one take-off
and one
landing.
If the three new airlines start service, the total number of operations
could go as high as 70 - a situation that could lead to an environmental
review. The 1995 Generic Environmental Impact Review, which Massport follows
for Hanscom activities, analyzed the effects of only 48 daily operations.
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