Firms rethink plans for travel

By Sasha Talcott and Ross Kerber, Globe Staff  |  October 11, 2005

The prospect of long delays at Logan International Airport caused by a malfunctioning radar system yesterday left businesses scrambling for alternative ways to get people and products in and out of the city or rethinking their travel plans altogether.

Some companies said they will consider using other regional airports, such as Manchester Airport in New Hampshire and T.F. Green in Warwick, R.I., until the problem is fixed. But they may find crowds there, too.

Judy Rossi, who coordinates travel for Cambridge cancer-drug developer Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., said yesterday afternoon that most of the flights she wanted to book at other area airports were already filled. Rossi and her associates spent part of yesterday trying to locate Vertex employees who are scheduled to travel soon by plane. Some may rework their schedules or postpone meetings, she said.

''We can circumvent the situation," said Rossi, Vertex's associate director of corporate services.

Executives at EMC Corp., the Hopkinton data-storage company, said fewer business people were traveling because of the Columbus Day holiday. ''If this had happened on any other Monday, we would have gotten a lot of calls," said Anne Pace, a company spokeswoman. Normally, about 340 EMC employees in North America travel daily, with half of them coming into or leaving Boston, Pace said.

Tourism officials took the news of the delays in stride. Several conventions are scheduled for Boston this week, including meetings of the American Trucking Association and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Officials said they do not expect Logan to have a major effect on the events.

Patrick B. Moscaritolo , president of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said some conventioneers who live close to New England will probably opt to take trains or drive. Those who plan to fly into Logan this week will have more flexibility than travelers already en route, he noted. ''What's going to be of utmost importance is the safety issue," Moscaritolo said. ''If they're going to be a few hours delayed, and they know what the reason is, they'll be able to deal with it."

UPS and Federal Express said packages should still be delivered to area addresses on time.

UPS, which flies three flights daily into Logan, anticipates only one might be delayed, a 7 p.m. flight from Orlando, said Mark Giuffre, spokesman for UPS Airlines. He said UPS may divert that flight to another regional airport and transfer packages to trucks. The other two flights arrive late at night.

A FedEx spokeswoman, Sandra Munoz, said the company will make adjustments to routes if needed. ''Our customers would never know" there is a problem at Logan, she said.

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com, Ross Kerber at kerber@globe.com. Thomas C. Palmer Jr. contributed to this report.