Manchester-Boston Regional has won accolades, but does it live up to the hype? (2025)

The Boston Globe

After a lackluster decade, airlines are returning to the small airport. Now all that’s missing are passengers.

By Christopher Muther, The Boston Globe

updated on May 9, 2025 | 8:42 AM

4 minutes to read

MANCHESTER — There’s a magical feeling that many of us experience when we arrive at an airport. It’s a heady mix of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and panic. Usually not in that order.

But when I arrived at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport last week, my usual fight-or-flight instinct was not kicking in. No cars were cutting me off as I approached the airport, and there was no confusing signage. I pulled into a parking garage that cost $14 a day (!), grabbed my suitcase from the trunk, and walked approximately five minutes into the airport. That was it.

Things grew even more bizarre when I arrived at the TSA checkpoint and realized that I was the only passenger there. Usually, by the time I’ve arrived at security, I’m feeling a slight tingle in my left arm, and my right eye is twitching uncontrollably. This time, there was nothing. I breezed through and walked to my gate.

To do the math: I walked five minutes from my car into the terminal, and then another five minutes through security to my gate. I didn’t check a bag, which would have added another five minutes, at most.

This is perhaps why Manchester-Boston keeps landing on best-of lists for small airports in the United States. In 2023, readers of Travel + Leisure named it the best domestic airport in the country. Last year, it landed in USA Today’s list of the top 10 small airports in the country.

I wasn’t content, however, to rely solely on the opinions of Travel + Leisure and USA Today readers. I had never been to Manchester-Boston, and so I decided it was time to experience it for myself. I booked a flight to see if it was worthy of the accolades.

What struck me most upon arrival was the ease of it all. As a Logan regular (I have the gray hair to prove it), I’m accustomed to getting my 10,000 steps in as I run from drop-off to gate. In comparison, Manchester is effortless. Yes, I just referred to an airport as effortless.

Despite the pluses, there are negatives. If an airport is this easy to navigate, it means it doesn’t offer many flights, or at least direct flights. Manchester-Boston has, historically, struggled to attract airlines. Currently, American Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines operate flights out of Manchester-Boston.

JetBlue, Breeze, and Avelo are all recent arrivals, but troubled airline Spirit departed last year. Southwest has been the airport’s most steady presence.

While that sounds like a respectable number of carriers for a small airport, the number of destinations where they travel is limited, as is the frequency of flights; many of the flights are seasonal. United only flies to Washington Dulles, and Sun Country offers one seasonal flight, twice a week, to Minneapolis; the season is now over.

Avelo and Breeze, two low-cost airlines based on a business model of flying to traditionally ignored, small airports, serve several small cities from Manchester-Boston. However, those flights only occur two or three times a week. It makes planning more challenging. Spirit pulled out of the airport last year, and Delta never returned after the pandemic.

American and Southwest offer multiple flights daily to cities such as Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Charlotte. JetBlue is adding a daily seasonal flight to JFK in June. These flights make it easy to connect to other destinations, but many people are willing to drive to Logan to avoid a connection.

As a result, Manchester-Boston has steadily lost passengers. In 2005, 4.2 million passengers came through the airport. At that time, there were 90 flights a day to 21 destinations. Last year, the airport had 1.2 million passengers. Airlines here offer direct flights to 17 destinations, but several of those are seasonal.

That makes it challenging to recommend it as an alternative to Logan, which has direct flights to 147 cities. However, if you don’t mind a connecting flight or two, Manchester-Boston can get you to 250 cities. The other downside is that flights out of Manchester are often more expensive than those out of Logan.

But the ease of getting to the airport, the inexpensive parking, and the quick trip through security don’t help if you can’t get where you’re going. Airport officials face the challenge of enticing new airlines to come, but that only works if there is demand. Passengers will only come if there are enough flights. It’s as if O. Henry wrote a short story about an airport.

Once you’ve passed security and are in the terminal, the offerings are limited. Aside from the prerequisite Hudson News, Dunkin Donuts, and Burger King, there’s a Sam Adams Café & Pub, and a Sam Adams Meetinghouse (only the Meetinghouse was open the two times I was at the airport). There’s also a Starbucks, a restaurant called The Local @ MHT, and, before security, a Shipyard Pub. There are no airport lounges. It’s a terminal designed for folks who won’t be lingering for hours.

My departing flight was delayed, so I had time to go to the Sam Adams Meetinghouse. It’s a small, friendly place. I was reminded of larger airports because my burger (no cheese) was $23. It’s the first time I paid more for a burger than for airport parking.

Despite its shortcomings, Manchester-Boston still has a lot to offer. It’s a solid regional airport for the community, removing the stress of traveling 50 miles to Logan for New Hampshire residents. It’s clean, bright, and people seem to be in a better mood than they are in Boston. What’s missing, however, are the routes needed to make it all come together. JetBlue’s forthcoming JFK flight is an essential step in connecting it internationally, but there’s a long way to go until the airport can fully serve the needs of locals or draw passengers away from Logan.