Traffic levels fall at Fort Smith Regional Airport

Enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport for the first two months of 2010 total 10,751, down 2% from the same period in 2009.

Unfortunately, the total enplanements in 2009 was the lowest at the airport since 1986.

February enplanements at the Fort Smith Regional Airport totaled 5,255, down 4.8% compared to February 2009. The January enplanements were up 0.8% over January 2009.

While the national recession has been cited as the cause for enplanements dips at airports around the country, weather may have hurt February numbers. A report from the Air Transport Association reported that winter storms resulted in the cancellation of 5% of scheduled flights in Feburary — or about 38,000 flights.

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 2008 traffic total was the lowest at the airport in the past 10 years.

American Eagle — the primary commercial airline operating out of Fort Smith — reported that its January and February boardings were 2.689 million, up 6% from the same period in 2009.

The Fort Smith Regional Airport lost in June 2009 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.

Dips in enplanements in Fort Smith were part of a national trend in 2009. According to the Air Transport Association, passenger revenue declined 18% in 2009 compared to 2008 as a result of a 6% drop in passenger volume and a 13% drop in the average price paid to fly one mile. The decline in passenger revenue from 2008 to 2009 is the largest on record, exceeding the 14 percent decline observed from 2000 to 2001.