XNA’s airfares closing the gap with peer airports

Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) recently shared new data showing the narrowest price difference in round-trip airfares between XNA and Tulsa International Airport (TUL).

According to the data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), XNA’s average fare is $442.95 compared to $435.94 at TUL, or a $7.01 difference on a round-trip ticket. This is second-quarter 2025 data, which BTS recently released.

“This is the narrowest gap in XNA history,” said Olivia Tyler, public affairs manager at XNA. “There is now only a $3 difference than the average of our 12 peer airports.” The average fare for XNA’s 12 peer airports is $440.

Between January and September, XNA’s enplanements, or passengers flying out, increased by 12.36% to 938,242 from 835,057 in the same period last year. So far this year, enplanements have been higher every month than in 2024. Enplanements rose 15.46% to a record of 1.14 million in 2024 from 991,489 in 2023.

Asked about the federal government shutdown, Tyler said XNA’s security checkpoint has not been affected. “There doesn’t seem to be significant delays.”

Tyler said XNA’s “air traffic control is privately operated, so there hasn’t been staffing issues on that end. I’ve been keeping a close eye on our arrivals and departures since the shutdown and have not seen any major cancellations or delays.”

During the government shutdown, XNA has not received passenger throughput numbers for the security checkpoint as it usually does. The numbers have been used to provide insight into enplanements for the month.