Enplanement numbers down in June

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) 69 views 

Enplanement activity at the Fort Smith Regional Airport is down 0.22% for the first half of 2011, following traffic declines in the second quarter that pulled down increases in the first quarter of the year.

June enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 8,698, down 1.92% compared to June 2010, with a 6.94% decline in American Airlines passengers out of Fort Smith to blame for the dip.

Year-to-date, enplanements out of Fort Smith total 41,006, down 0.22% compared to the 2010 period. Year-to-date enplanements were up 6.7% at the end of the first quarter of 2011.

Enplanements at the airport totaled 86,129 during 2010, up 9.81% over 2009 — an increase that ended two consecutive years of enplanement declines at the airport. 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 2009 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

Delta, flying passengers to and from its Memphis hub, continues to see increases in passengers out of Fort Smith. For the first six months of 2011, Delta enplanements out of Fort Smith total 17,11, up 20.59% compared to the 2010 period.

Year-to-date, Delta reports 11.827 million passengers in its domestic regional system, down 2.8% compared to the 2010 period.

American Airlines (American Eagle), which connects Fort Smith travelers to Dallas-Fort Worth, had 5,122 enplanements out of Fort Smith in June, down compared to the 5,504 in June 2010. For the first six months of 2011, American had 23,695 enplanements out of Fort Smith, down 11.4% compared to the 2010 period.

American Eagle reported 8.274 million passenger boardings during the first six months of 2011, up 6.2% compared to the 2010 period. The airline had 1.57 million passengers in June, up 13.4% compared to June 2010.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is on track for an enplanement gain for the first half of 2011. Between January and May, enplanements at XNA total 226,222, up 3.9% compared to the same period of 2010.

Little Rock National Airport had 422,045 between January and May, down 5.84% compared to the same period in 2010.