Fort Smith airport traffic up 1.6% January-June

Those looking for signs of a stabilizing regional economic may find some relief in the 8.6% gain in June enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport.

June saw 8,869 enplanements in Fort Smith, up 8.6% over the 8,166 in June 2009. The June traffic followed a 1.9% dip in May and an 8.6% gain in April. Enplanements total 41,099 for the first six months of 2010, up 1.6% from the 40,419 for the same period in 2009.

Also, the June traffic is compared to portions of a June 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. July 2010 will mark the first month of pure two-carrier comparisons.

Delta reported a 4.2% gain in system traffic in June, with traffic up 0.3% for the first six months of 2010. American Eagle reported enplanements of 1.384 million in June, down 4.5% compared to June 2009. Year-to-date, American Eagle enplanements are up 2.1%.

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 2009 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) is also recovering from two years of consecutive declines. For the first five months of 2010 (XNA had not reported June traffic as of July 8), the airport had 217,716 enplanements, up 8.8% over the 199,926 in the 2009 period.

The traffic gains at Fort Smith and XNA come amid continued tough times for the U.S. economy and the national airline industry.

Stats from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of Transportation division) show that passenger airlines had 4.1% fewer workers in April 2010 (376,200 full-time worker equivalents) than April 2009 — the 22nd consecutive month of declines in full-time employment in the industry.

However, a June 10 BTS report shows that U.S. airline enplanements were up 2.4% in March compared to March 2009. The 2010 gains were 7.8% below March 2008 — a figure which shows how deep enplanements declined in 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