In 2010, after recommending the sale or lease of ORH to Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), The Research Bureau endorsed the Memorandum of Understanding between Worcester and Massport for the transfer of the airport in Worcester Regional Airport Positioned For Take-Off. Six years later, The Research Bureau then published Bureau Brief—Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) which examined the airport as an underutilized but valuable public infrastructure asset. That Bureau Brief reviewed Massport’s ownership history, reliability, safety investments, and JetBlue’s arrival as possible signs of a commercial passenger rebound.

This updated brief revisits those issues a decade later. It examines ORH’s history, recent passenger activity, regional competition, ORH’s economic impact on the region, and Massport’s current strategy for expanding service.