Fort Smith airport traffic improves in November

After a dismal October in which enplanements fell 14%, November saw an improvement in passenger traffic at the Fort Smith Regional Airport.

November enplanements at the airport totaled 6,217, down just 2% compared to November 2008, according to figures published by the airport. For the first 11 months of 2009, enplanements total 72,545, down 9.6% from the 80,287 enplanements in the same period of 2008.

The November figures continue a trend of improving year-over-year percentage declines. Enplanements for the first nine months of the year were down 9.8%; down 10% for the first eight months; and were down 11.1% for the first six months of the year.

November’s improved traffic is a result of a big November boost with American Eagle.

American Eagle — the primary commercial airline operating out of Fort Smith — reported that its November boardings were 1.575 million, up 13.6% from November 2008. For the year, the regional airline reports boardings of 17.221 million, down 2.6% compared to the same period of 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 2008 traffic total is the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

The Fort Smith Regional Airport lost in June its direct Delta connection to the Atlanta airport. The loss is a result of the acquisition of Northwest Airlines by Delta. American Eagle Airlines operates five flights a day — all connecting to Dallas-Fort Worth — out of Fort Smith. Delta/Northwest has three flights a day to Memphis.