Fort Smith airport traffic flat compared to 2009

BusinessFort SmithNews on the Wire

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) June 14, 2010 9:22 am 71 views 

May put somewhat of a wet blanket on the hope that enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport were on an upward trend.

The airport posted 7,763 enplanements in May, down up 1.9% compared to May 2009. April brought a slimmer of hope that enplanements out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport may begin to improve. Enplanements in April were up 8.6% over April 2009.

Enplanements total 32,230 for the first five months of the year, down but basically flat compared to the 32,253 in the same period in 2009. Year-to-date enplanements in April were up 0.53%.

Traffic at the regional airport has seen two years of consecutive dips. 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.

However, the May traffic is compared to a May 2009 that had more air carriers in Fort Smith. In May 2009, American Eagle, Northwest and Delta were flying out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport. That number dropped to two — American and Delta —  in June following the merger of Northwest and Delta.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) also is seeing a reversal of fortunes that saw the airport post two consecutive years of enplanement declines. XNA had 167,759 enplanements for the first four months of 2010, up 11.5% over the 2009 period.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics recently reported that U.S. airlines carried 62.4 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in March 2010, up 2.4% increase compared to March 2009. However, the March 2010 passenger total was 7.8% below that of March 2008.

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