What Legislators & Leaders are Saying About the Proposed Hanscom Expansion
Statements from: Legislators Environmental Leaders Towns & Cities
What Our Legislators are Saying
U.S. Senator Ed Markey, 10/2/23
“The climate crisis is indisputable. We just experienced the hottest summer on record with intense storms, severe wildfires, and devastating flooding. Private jets spew tons of carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to this crisis. Private jet travel is a luxury our climate cannot afford.”
Full statement here.
State Senator Mike Barrett, 10/2/23
“If 27 — or 18 — or just a dozen — of these hangars get built, the agency will never come back from the reputational damage. Going ahead would be an unforced error, one of the biggest ones in modern Massachusetts public policy. None of us should want this.“
Full statement here.
State Senator Cindy F. Friedman, Sep 2023
“The Hanscom Field expansion for private jets is deeply problematic, and I can’t see the project bringing any benefit to the communities surrounding Hanscom or to the Commonwealth as a whole. It certainly does not benefit our environment or help us reach our climate goals…this project will hurt the public.”
-Sept 2023 Lexington Times, “The Little Airport That Could” by E. Ashley Rooney
State Representative Carmine Gentile, 9/4/23
“It’s very important that people voice their opposition to the proposed 27 new private jet hangars AND continuation of the current level of private jet use in the U.S. locally, to the Governor and State legislators, and to our terrific Congressional delegation…”
Environmental Leaders
Chuck Collins
Program Director, Institute of Policy Studies
“…authors of the [Hanscom High Flyers] report, say such travel is a reason [Massport] should abandon a plan…to expand Hanscom’s private jet capacity. 'Private jet travel is ‘an indefensible extravagance on an overheating planet,’ said Chuck Collins, an author of the report. ‘We shouldn’t be expanding private jet infrastructure at Hanscom or anywhere.’”
Caitlin Peale Sloan
Vice President, Conservation Law Foundation
The [Hanscom High Flyers report] underscored why “continuing to coddle the ultrawealthy by expanding private jet services is unjustifiable in the face of the climate crisis.” She was particularly disturbed by how many flights seemed unnecessary, especially in an era of video conferencing. ‘This report confirms with data what we have long understood: Private jet travel is wasteful and places huge cost and environmental burdens on the rest of us.’”
Bill McKibben
Co-Founder, 350.org
“[On] what policies Massachusetts should adopt, McKibben said that any new fossil fuel infrastructure should be stopped…He referred to the hangar expansion proposal for private luxury jets at Hanscom Field this way: ‘It’s the single most ludicrous idea I’ve ever heard. They ought to rename it Carbon Dioxide Field. Find a way,” he added, ‘to knock that down fast.’”
Elizabeth Turnbull Henry
President, Environmental League of Massachusetts
“’Expanding highways increases cars; expanding private jet capacity increases private jets,’ said Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, who compared the [proposed Hanscom] hangars to ‘building a climate bomb.’”
Town & City Governments
Hanscom Area Towns (HATS) Letter
Approved by the Bedford, Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln Select Boards. Hanscom Field is located in these four towns.
“Our towns have been diligently working hand-in-hand with the State government to achieve our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by 2030, and we have made significant progress. However, the proposed North Airfield expansion would undermine these efforts, exacerbating greenhouse gas emissions and directly contradicting the climate goals pursued by our towns, the Commonwealth, and the nation.”
Read the full HATS Letter here.
Town & City Resolutions Against the Expansion
From Acton to Wayland, to Somerville and beyond, more and more municipalities are taking a stand against the expansion by passing a resolution via their Select Boards or City Councils.
See the full list of municipalities who have achieved this milestone, read their resolutions, and learn how to make similar strides in your own community on our Municipal Resolution Campaign Page here.