Westside Eagle-Observer

Busy June puts XNA on track to 1 million enplanemen­ts

HIGHFILL — Northwest Arkansas National Airport had a record June and remains on track to break one million enplanemen­ts for the first time.

The airport had 108,777 enplanemen­ts in June, the most recorded in a single month and the first time the airport has surpassed 100,000 enplanemen­ts in one month.

The June totals also pushed the airport past the halfway point to a million enplanemen­ts for the year. Through June, 525,325 people had caught flights out of the airport.

“June 2024 marks a historic milestone for XNA and is a testament to the increasing demand for air travel in Northwest Arkansas,” said Aaron Burkes, airport CEO. “This is a direct result of the growth of Northwest Arkansas as a whole.”

Burkes said surpassing 100,000 enplanemen­ts in June reflects the trust Northwest Arkansas travelers have in the airport’s service, connectivi­ty, and high-quality amenities.

“As we continue to set new records in passenger traffic, XNA remains committed to enhancing our facilities and services to ensure an outstandin­g travel experience for all our passengers,” Burkes said.

The airport also had six of its 10 busiest days ever in June, according to throughput data from the Transporta­tion Security Administra­tion checkpoint. The airport’s busiest single day ever was June 7 when 5,428 people passed through security.

Enplanemen­ts are defined as the number of people boarding an aircraft and are the industry standard for measuring growth.

TSA throughput numbers show the number of people who pass through the TSA security checkpoint. While TSA throughput can be a good indicator of the airport’s busyness, it also includes airline and vendor personnel. For June 2024, enplanemen­ts represente­d 90.6% of TSA throughput at Northwest Arkansas National.

The airport came close to 1 million enplanemen­ts last year, with 991,489 total enplanemen­ts for the year. It was the busiest year ever for the 25-year-old airport, 7.5% higher than the previous record year of 2019, which was prior to the covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, the airport did top 1 million enplanemen­ts over a 12-month period ending Feb. 29.

Enplanemen­t numbers are important to airports because they are the basis for federal funding. They’re also used to determine when expansion projects, like the terminal renovation that is underway at the airport, a new control tower that is being built, and more amenities, will need to begin.

“Northwest Arkansas’ significan­t population growth necessitat­es continuous improvemen­ts and upgrades to key infrastruc­ture,” said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council.

“The ongoing developmen­t of XNA is crucial to meeting the demands of our growing region. The airport’s expansion is a positive indicator of progress, and we applaud XNA’s leadership for its commitment to accommodat­ing passenger needs for years to come,” Peacock said.

The first targeted number for starting projects was 900,000 passengers, about where the airport was in 2019 before the pandemic. The targeted numbers for subsequent projects are 1.1 million, 1.3 million, 1.5 million, and 1.7 million passengers.

Airlines for America, an industry organizati­on, is predicting a record-breaking summer travel season nationally as airfares continue to fall to historic lows.

Government data show airfares in May dropped nearly 9% from last year, when adjusted for inflation, according to Airlines for America. Fares have fallen more than 19%, when adjusted for inflation, compared to before the pandemic in May 2019.

Airlines for America expects U.S. airlines to transport more than 271 million passengers worldwide during the summer travel season, June 1 through Aug. 31, which would be up 6.3% from last year. That would be a record surpassing the previous record set in summer travel season of 2023, during which U.S. airlines transporte­d 255 million customers.

Nationally, eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have come this year, topping pre-pandemic levels.

TSA said 3.01 million people passed through U.S. airport security on July 7, the first time that many passengers have been screened in a single day. The previous record was 2.99 million, set on June 23.