"FedEx Pursues Possibility of Using Airport in Bedford, Mass."

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

FedEx Pursues Possibility of Using Airport in Bedford, Mass.
The Boston (MA) Globe


A fight is brewing over whether air cargo company FedEx Express should begin
flying its cargo shipments in and out of Hanscom Field Airport in Bedford.

FedEx officials met with Massachusetts Port Authority chief executive Craig
T. Coy in Boston on Monday to discuss the shipping firm's possible expansion
into Hanscom. FedEx says it needs to use the airport because traffic at
Logan International Airport in Boston can delay deliveries.

But representatives from communities near Hanscom oppose further commercial
air traffic at Hanscom. Critics say jet traffic at the airport has been
increasing for the past three years, contributing to noise and pollution in
the area. Residents also say they're upset at not having a say in the
process.

"This is just the beginning," Sheldon Moll, a Bedford selectman and a member
of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, said referring to Massport's
efforts to increase jet traffic at Hanscom. "There's not much that the
residents can do about it, except treat it as an environmental impact. Those
attempts have been rebutted, so we haven't won much when it comes to
environmental. That's the only edge we have."

The prospect of Memphis-based FedEx Express operating out of Hanscom arose
in April, when Massport officials informed community residents that FedEx
had inquired about landing fees and other costs associated with operating
there.

At the time, both Massport and FedEx said such an inquiry was a routine
matter and not an indicator that the package shipper was planning operations
at the airport. FedEx had run cargo shipments out of Hanscom previously,
between 1973 and 1978.

Then FedEx called Massport last Friday and asked for a meeting, said Jose
Juves, a Massport spokesman.

"I think this is a testament to the local economy, that during a period of a
downturn that FedEx Express is looking to expand operations.

It's a good indication of the strength of our economy and could be an
indication of things beginning to turn around," he said. Massport, Juves
added, has done environmental analysis at Hanscom that indicated no
significant impact from limited cargo operations there.

FedEx asked Massport to allow it one cargo flight in and out of Hanscom each
day before 11 p.m., using an Airbus A300 jet aircraft, said Pam Roberson, a
FedEx spokeswoman. But no plans have been finalized.

FedEx, which has 10 cargo flights in and out of Logan daily and employs
about 350 people there, sometimes has to wait for a place to park its planes
before unloading them to one of 10 local processing centers, Roberson said.

Although FedEx typically holds community forums and town hall meetings,
Roberson said she couldn't guarantee that would happen in this case.

Still, some activists accuse Massport and FedEx of moving forward without
community input and are vowing to keep FedEx out.

"We never heard anything," said Anna Winter, executive director of Save Our
Heritage, a nonprofit environmental group based in Concord.

"It's an unwise move on the part of FedEx, and if need be, we'll launch a
significant national campaign" against them operating at Hanscom.


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