JetBlue, American Airlines requested to stop Worcester airport service
Photo | Grant Welker
A JetBlue flight prepares for boarding at Worcester Regional Airport.
The U.S. Department of Transportation appears to have approved further cuts to airline service requirements at the Worcester Regional Airport, according to a May 22 filing, although as of Friday morning it was not immediately clear what those cuts might look like.
Following a May 12 notice allowing airlines to request further service exemptions, both JetBlue Airways and American Airlines requested an exemption from serving Worcester, according to the filing.
Although the Worcester was one of five markets wherein full exemption was not granted for all airlines who submitted a request, the Worcester airport is listed among those tentatively approved for reduced service by DOT.
American Airlines said in an email it will continue providing service to Worcester from Philadelphia. JetBlue did not immediately return a request for comment, and it remains unclear whether the airline will continue to provide any service to the Worcester airport under the terms of the DOT’s exemptions.
The DOT said in its filing it would not approve exemption applications if the exemptions would result in an airport losing all covered carrier service, or if it would otherwise result in inadequate capacity or connectivity.
In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation denied a previous request from JetBlue to suspend service at the Worcester Regional Airport, arguing that JetBlue was already receiving sufficient pandemic support through the CARES Act.
JetBlue said in April it had ceased providing nonstop flights out of Worcester to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, and that its nonstop flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport were booked to 15% capacity.
Delta Airlines, which also serves Worcester with a nonstop flight to Detroit, did not request an exemption from serving the Worcester market, according to the filing.
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