The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has released a new Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study, detailing the activities of 39 public-use airports and the $7.2 billion payroll they generate.
Over the past five years since the last such study, related jobs increased by 37,000, to 199,000 currently employed by the industry. Further, payroll has increased by $1.1 billion, while these airports’ larger economic output has reached $8.1 billion.
“We are pleased to release the latest update to our Statewide Economic Impact Study which highlights how airports throughout Massachusetts are continuing to support jobs and economic opportunity,” Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said. “This study underscores the importance of investments in airport infrastructure because our airports are vital to the state’s economy, creating jobs, moving people and goods and in many cases, serving as important community gathering areas in less populated areas of the Commonwealth.”
The report not only assesses the airports as a collective, but analyzes them individually, showing how many people they employ, how much they spend on payroll, and what their economic output is. Hanscom stands as the busiest general aviation airport in all of New England at present. On the whole, the report also identified the annual impacts associated with on-airport, aviation-related businesses and government organizations, capital improvement projects, military aviation, spending habits of visitors from commercial service airlines, as well as those of visitors from privately-owned general aviation aircraft.
“This important study by MassDOT highlights that it is our strong, diverse regional economy that generates the activity and jobs tied to airport activity,” Massport Acting CEO John Pranckevicius said. “The study also validates the investments we have made at Logan, Worcester, and Hanscom. Logan’s economic output increased by over 20% based on demand for international and domestic travel while Worcester airport’s economic impact doubled based on the new commercial air service and investments by Massport and private operators such as Ross Rectrix.”