Fort Smith Regional Airport traffic up in 2025, ends year with ‘steady demand’
After a slow start in which traffic out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport was down 4.4% following the first four months of 2025, the remainder of the year was busier with enplanements up 1.56% at the end of 2025.
Traffic for the year totaled 62,369, up 1.56% compared with 61,409 in 2024. The 2025 gain is the second consecutive year of growth for an airport that had more than 95,000 enplanements prior to COVID.
December enplanements totaled 5,011, up 0.6% compared with 4,979 in December 2024, according to airport information. The airport finished the year with fourth quarter (October – December) enplanements up 1% compared with the same period in November.
“December recorded just over 5,000 enplanements, reflecting steady demand through the holiday travel season and consistent performance as we closed out the year,” said Airport Director Andrew Meyer.
The year-to-date gain is largely courtesy of a rise in traffic during the third quarter (July-September). Traffic in the quarter totaled 17,757, up 7.45% compared with the 16,525 in the same period of 2024. September saw the most traffic in 2025 with 6,290 enplanements.
AIRPORT HISTORY
Enplanements at the airport in 2024 totaled 61,409, up 1.2% compared with the 60,669 enplanements in 2023. The 2024 tally is down 35.8% compared with 2019 when those traveling out of the airport totaled 95,670. Enplanements fell to 38,660 in 2020.
Fort Smith enplanements were on a growth trend prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time enplanements topped 100,000 was in 2005 with 102,607. The enplanement record is 112,782 set in 1975.
American Airlines is the only carrier at the airport, with a connection only to Dallas-Fort Worth. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines stopped its direct service to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in July 2020.
The airport received a $1.145 million grant in August 2022 from the Small Community Air Service Development Program of the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit a route to Chicago or another northeastern market. The grant is good for 10 years. The airport contracted with Middleton, Wisc.-based Mead & Hunt to help recruit more flights and add new markets.
Following are the previous 11 years of Fort Smith enplanement totals.
2025: 62,369
2024: 61,409
2023: 60,669
2022: 61,719
2021: 47,287
2020: 38,660
2019: 95,670
2018: 90,501
2017: 89,582
2016: 87,488
2015: 86,704