Fort Smith airport traffic down through June, director search ongoing

Traffic out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport is down in the first half of 2025, but the airport finished May and June with a more than 3% gain in enplanements compared with the same period in 2024.

Airport enplanements totaled 29,439 between January and June, down 1.4% compared with the same period in 2024. Traffic in May and June, however, totaled 11,518, up 3.5% compared with 11,125 in the same period of 2024.

“I am encouraged to see enplanement numbers trending upward over the past two months after a slower start to the year,” Airport Commission Chairman Eric Pendergrass said. “This positive momentum is due in part to increased awareness of the convenience and value of flying local, along with a seasonal uptick in summer travel.”

Pendergrass and Commissioner Dr. Justin Voris said airport staff continue to take actions to improve short- and long-term traffic numbers.

“Of note, recently our staff along with local American Airlines staff have done an excellent job in securing several plane diversions (weather or mechanical) recently and minimizing travel delays,” Voris noted in a statement. “We’re also excited that the TSA PreCheck enrollment has been another successful operation. That has brought a new wave of interest to the airport and local travel potential.”

Voris, the commission liaison in the search for a new airport director, said ADK Consulting has around 20 “qualified candidates” and the application window is open for a few more weeks. Michael Griffin, director of the airport since 2017, resigned in April. His base pay at the time was $165,000. The commission in May hired Atlantic Beach, Fla.-based ADK Consulting and Executive Search for $45,306 for their search services to fill the open director position.

“We are still in the open application process with ADK. We have a good working relationship with ADK and have seen an upward trend (much like enplanements) with the number of qualified applicants,” Voris noted, adding that they plan to “reach a pool of the top 5 candidates before interviews begin.”

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 had four to five flights a day in 2021 but has reduced its schedule to three flights a day. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines stopped its direct service to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in July 2020.

Following are the previous 10 years of Fort Smith enplanement totals.
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