Fort Smith Regional Airport traffic up more than 2% through February

A rising number of Fort Smith Regional Airport enplanements has resulted in American Airlines using larger planes at the airport and planning to add an extra flight during the summer, according to Airport Director Andrew Meyer.

Enplanements at the airport totaled 8,651 in the first two months of 2026, up 2.3% compared with 8,454 in the same period of 2025. Traffic was up 1.9% in January and up 2.75% in February. The gain through February followed a 1.56% increase in 2025.

“American continues to add seats into Fort Smith to support the growing demand, particularly with the growing mission at Ebbing ANG,” Meyer said. “Most of these recently added seats are due to American investing larger aircraft into Fort Smith with relatively the same number of flights.”

Ebbing Air National Guard Base, located on airport property, was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term Foreign Military Sales pilot training center supporting F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland, and other countries participating in the program.

Meyer said American Airlines plans to add a fourth flight during the summer beginning in late May. He said talks with airlines continue in the effort to add more routes and more carriers.

“Conversations with airlines to invest in Fort Smith takes time and often impacted by economic and industry developments which are outside our control,” Meyer said. “We do appreciate the various community partners that are willing to support us as we focus on seat and access growth at Fort Smith.”

AIRPORT HISTORY
Enplanements at the airport in 2025 totaled 62,369, up 1.56% compared with 61,409 in 2024, and better than 60,669 enplanements in 2023. The 2024 tally is down 34.8% 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 about three flights a day 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