WORCESTER, Mass. - More people are starting to travel as vaccination rates increase and mandates loosen.

Massport board chair Lew Evangelidis says people are booking flights at a higher rate.

Airlines are also beginning to expand service. JetBlue announced plans this week to add seven new destinations from New York and Boston.

When it comes to the Worcester Regional Airport, the question is: When can we expect flights to return?

Evangelidis says they've had some "high level discussions" in the last month or two with JetBlue who have reaffirmed their commitment to Worcester.

"I do expect there is going to be some real good news coming for flights out of Worcester, hopefully in the near future. JetBlue will make that decision. We don't make the decisions on behalf of the airline, but we are pretty confident JetBlue has told us and they are firmly committed to Worcester and they are going to be back sooner than later."

Evangelidis says there’s other airline service they want to get back to Worcester, including American Airline flights to Philadelphia and the Delta flights to Detroit.

He says Massport is also looking to get additional carriers and flights.