Logan Airport opened its first remote terminal on Monday in Framingham, Massachusetts, moving TSA screening and bag check 23 miles from Boston and sending eligible travelers straight to the airport by bus. The new setup is at 19 Flutie Pass and is separate from the nearby Logan Express Framingham location.
For Noah, the appeal was immediate. He said he and his travel companion woke up about 45 minutes earlier, took a 10-minute drive to the terminal and walked in without the usual airport grind. “We woke up like 45 minutes ago, took a 10-minute drive here, just walked right in and checked our bags,” he said.
Massachusetts officials are pitching the service as a shortcut that could change the way some people get to Logan, where traffic and security lines can make a short trip feel longer than the flight itself. Passengers who qualify can buy tickets online at LoganRemote.com up to 90 days before a flight, or as late as 90 minutes before departure, for $9 each way. Children under 18 ride free with a ticketed family member, and the system recommends a bus time based on flight information so travelers arrive at least 45 minutes before takeoff.
Inside the terminal, passengers check their bags before going through a full TSA screening checkpoint lane, including TSA PreCheck, then wait in a holding room before boarding a secure Logan Express bus. The buses carry 55 passengers each and run hourly from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. to Logan, where they go directly to the terminal past airport security. The payoff is a different airport experience before the plane even leaves the ground, with ramp-side drop-off instead of the usual curbside shuffle.
But the promise comes with limits. For now, only JetBlue and Delta passengers with flights between 5:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. can use the service, narrowing what was billed as a game-changer into a pilot-sized operation. Parking is available too, with about 400 spots at $7 a day, far less than the $46 daily charge at a Logan garage.
That gap is the story’s real test. The remote terminal may ease one of the most frustrating parts of flying into Boston, but its impact will depend on whether enough travelers can use it to make Framingham a true gateway to Logan, and that answer is still ahead.
