Massport (A): The Aftermath of 9/11
Massport's - The Massachusetts Port Authority
In 1956, the Massachusetts legislature passed the Massport Enabling Act, creating an independent authority to manage specific air, sea, and ground transportation facilities in and around Boston.
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is an independent public agency that provides for the growing transportation needs of Massachusetts and New England by developing, promoting, and managing airports, the seaport, the Tobin Bridge, and other regional transportation infrastructure
The purpose of the authority was to operate and enhance the region’s transportation infrastructure so as to meet the needs of local citizens and businesses as well as promote economic growth and development.
Massport received no tax dollars from the state; the legislation called for the authority to cover its expenses by charging fees and tolls to the users of the various facilities.
Massport also became a large employer in the state. By 2001, the agency employed approximately 1,000 people, and its tenants employed nearly 20,000 individuals. The authority generated billions of dollars of economic activity, and Logan Airport alone served more than 20 million passengers per year
Resulting problem
On September 11, 2001, two planes departed from Boston’s Logan Airport destined for Los Angeles. Terrorists hijacked the two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City.
Several thousand people died as the twin towers collapsed.
The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), the public agency responsible for operating Logan Airport, became the object of intense criticism in the days following the attacks.
Many people blamed the agency for failing to provide adequate security.
The media became especially critical of the fact that a number of jobs at the authority had been filled through political patronage.
Massport faced more than just image and morale problems at that time.
In the