Northwest Arkansas Airport Approaching 2019 Passenger Levels and Announces New Service

AR – Passenger enplanements at Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) in Fayetteville/Bentonville are projected to be between 825,000 and 830,000 for 2022, representing about 90% of 2019, the highest on record at 922,500. Airport management said enplanements earlier in the year were on track to equal those of 2019 but slowed during the summer months, which they attributed to a lack of capacity as airlines still struggle with the ongoing pilot shortage.

The number of pilots is estimated to be about 11% below what the industry needs to operate at total capacity, now running at 80%. To compensate for the lack of pilots, airlines have reduced the number of flights but are using larger aircraft that are nearly full on every flight. Under these circumstances, one cancelation can cause immense disruption because another plane or crew may not be available for many hours. Another probable reason for the deceleration is that some segments of business travel will not return, such as those providing legal or technology services, which can often be conducted via video calls or virtual meetings. Helping to keep business traveler numbers up is that anyone who wants to sell their goods or services through Walmart will want to travel through XNA to get to nearby Bentonville, the headquarters of the world’s largest retailer.

At the same time as their concern about enplanement numbers and market share were being discussed, XNA officials made the optimistic announcement that Breeze Airways will add three new routes beginning in the Spring of 2023. The new service to Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), Arizona, will begin February 17, and flights will begin March 6 to Orlando International (MCO), Florida, and Charleston International (CHS), South Carolina.