Airport traffic down 2.3% in first quarter

Enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport for the first three months of 2010 total 17,503, down 2.3% from the same period in 2009.

Unfortunately, the total enplanements in 2009 was the lowest at the airport since 1986.

March enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 6,752, down 2.8% compared to the 6,953 in March 2009.

Enplanements in 2009 at the Fort Smith airport totaled 78,432, down 9.8% from the 87,030 enplanements in 2008. Passenger enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 87,030 in 2008, down 12.2% from the 99,127 enplanements in 2007. The 2008 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

The Fort Smith Regional Airport lost in June 2009 its direct Delta connection to the Atlanta airport. The loss is a result of the acquisition of Northwest Airlines by Delta. American Eagle Airlines operates five flights a day — all connecting to Dallas-Fort Worth — out of Fort Smith. Delta/Northwest has three flights a day to Memphis.

Dips in enplanements in Fort Smith were part of a national trend in 2009. According to the Air Transport Association, passenger revenue declined 18% in 2009 compared to 2008 as a result of a 6% drop in passenger volume and a 13% drop in the average price paid to fly one mile. The decline in passenger revenue from 2008 to 2009 is the largest on record, exceeding the 14% decline observed from 2000 to 2001.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) is not seeing the same declines as Fort Smith and other parts of the nation. The airport has posted 120,908 enplanements between January-March, up 19% over the same period in 2009. In March, XNA had 47,895 enplanements, up 19.2% over March 2009.

PAST DECADE OF ENPLANEMENTS (Fort Smith Regional Airport)
2009: 78,432
2008: 87,030
2007: 99,127
2006: 94,717
2005: 102,607
2004: 92,928
2003: 90,493
2002: 87,944
2001: 95,419
2000: 104,182