OPINION | MARY ANN SORRENTINO
Rhode
Island — homebound and likely to stay that way
By Mary Ann Sorrentino,September 4, 2019, 10:26 a.m.
T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I. RHODE ISLAND AIRPORT CORPORATION
The recent decision
by Norwegian Airlines to pull its direct
service to international destinations from Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport leaves
the Ocean State more tightly bound by its geographic and imaginary borders.
Once Norwegian leaves in September, the only flights to international cities
from Green will be the regular Air Canada service from Providence to Toronto.
To a majority of Rhode
Islanders — many of whom still consider a drive north from Pawtucket to
Norwood, Mass., or southwest to Stonington, Conn., a “day trip”— the news that
the nearest gateways to Europe and other faraway places are again Boston’s
Logan Airport or Bradley Airport near Hartford, Norwegian’s exit causes little
concern.
We Rhode Islanders can be a
“stay put” bunch. It is still common to hear locals say, with full amazement,
it’s “such a long ride to” whatever border towns surround the state. In
reality, the capital city of Providence is less than 45 minutes to an hour from
Boston’s South Shore or the Connecticut line.
This cement-foot mindset
is, of course, more prevalent in older residents than among our young people
who, thankfully, have managed for the most part to give reality a chance. They
know that bright lights and big cities like Boston, New Haven, and even New
York are reachable by car in less time than it often takes to renew one’s
license or get new number plates at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
In fairness, I also
observe, as the years go by, that, thankfully, more Rhode Islanders will will
venture to the four corners of the world to expand their horizons. They will be
especially and uniquely sad to see Norwegian leave. T.F. Green Airport is,
frankly, a heck of a lot easier to get to and use than Logan. Parking is
plentiful, and the airport by national standards is relatively new and as
comfortable as one could hope for. Bradley, though adequate and despite recent marketing
campaigns, always seems like a more taxing journey. This may be because the
routes to the Hartford area from Rhode Island are older, less direct, and
tedious.
As a frequent overseas
traveler, and someone who lives minutes from T.F. Green, my perfect world would
include regular flights from Providence to Rome, Paris, Dublin, Madrid, Lisbon,
and, of course, London. (From any of those capitals I could connect to the Far
East if I didn’t abhor the idea of a full day squished in a plane.)
But I am a native Rhode
Islander: I understand that a state losing population and one where my
neighbors still feel that New Bedford or Stonington are “day trip” destinations
probably doesn’t have the will to make flights to “foreign countries”
profitable for any airline.
That being the case, many
Rhode Islanders will continue to feel that renting a house at Scarborough Beach
for a couple of weeks during the summer, an occasional jaunt to Newport, the
Cape, or Block Island, or a bus trip to Boston or New York City for the really
adventurous, are more than they need to get away from it all for a while. Those
who can will drive or fly to Florida for a winter respite. As long as Southwest
and Jet Blue keep their desks open at Green Airport, Rhode Island will feel
well-served.
Real travelers, sadly, will
still face the extra time, cost, and traffic challenges that lead to Logan or
Bradley when they are headed for any place that requires a passport. In the
end, that is a small price to pay for those of us blessed with wanderlust.
Mary Ann Sorrentino’s column appears regularly on the First Wednesday in the Globe.
Follow her on Twitter at @Thatmaryann or email her at thatmaryann@yahoo.com
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