Mayor Mitchell Touts Growth At Airport

During his weekly radio program Mayor Jon Mitchell discussed the New Bedford Regional Airport and the recent approvals it received from United States Customs and Border Protection and the United States Department of Agriculture to accept international flights.

Mayor Mitchell says that the airport has seen a tremendous amount of growth recently which will provide New Bedford with an opportunity to become a transportation hub for Southeastern Massachusetts.

"Logan Airport is north of Boston, Green Airport, by car, is on the other side of Providence, Hyannis is basically a seasonal airport," said Mitchell "for this region, for all of Southeastern Massachusetts, we're it, and there's a pretty big catchment area, so we think there's a real market."

Mayor Mitchell says this could lead to more business opportunities for the city especially as Amazon is preparing to open a new facility in Fall River.

"We've had some loose discussions, the airport has, with Amazon," said Mitchell "with the new Amazon facility in Fall River there may be some opportunities to connect up that distribution center with our airport for some of the quick turnaround service that Amazon is known for."

Mayor Mitchell also says he see a way to increase air traffic at the airport without having to lengthen the runway.

"The reality of aviation post 9-11 is that much regional aviation is done through smaller aircraft that don't need these really long runways," said Mitchell "so we can build up that business without having to lengthen the runways."

Mayor mitchell says a search for a new Airport Director will begin in earnest to replace Erick D`Leon who stepped down on Wednesday.