SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Arkansas National Airport saw more passengers boarding flights there in September than Clinton National Airport in Little Rock had that month, the Northwest Arkansas airport's board was told Tuesday.
This marks the first time boardings at Northwest Arkansas exceeded those in Little Rock or any other airport in the state, Chief Executive Officer Aaron Burkes said during a day-long retreat of the board at the regional office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arkansas in Springdale.
Figures for Little Rock's enplanements -- as passengers boarding are called -- were 97,820 in September, the Little Rock airport's figures show. September boardings at the Northwest Arkansas airport in Highfill came in at 101,840.
Burkes added in an interview that October's boardings at XNA, as his airport is called, came in at 110,823. Burkes expects this will also exceed any other such figure in the state, but those figures from other airports are not yet available, he said.
Northwest Arkansas National is well on its way to exceeding 1 million enplanements for the year, which would be a first for the airport in its 26-year history. Through October, the airport had 946,774 enplanements for 2024. The airport saw a record 991,489 enplanements in 2023.
The increase in passengers using Northwest Arkansas National reflects continued growth, but growth presents its challenges, board members were told. Presentations at Tuesday's retreat included expansion plans for the airport's terminals, for parking, for rental car facilities and for solar power installations to handle the airport's increasing demand for electricity.
"We will have to issue debt, no doubt about it" to expand the terminal, Burkes said. The airport is financially sound but terminal expansion alone is expected to cost between $80 million and $100 million, he told the board.
The expense does not concern him as much as the growth figures the terminal expansion plans are based on, using a figure of 3% growth a year, said Jerry Walton, board vice chairman. That seems too conservative in light of growth in recent years of 5%, Walton said.
Board members also expressed concern about balancing the need for more boarding gates at the airport with the need for providing enough space in the terminals for the passengers to assemble, and providing the necessary facilities and amenities for them.
"No passenger ever said, 'Wow, this concourse is way too expansive and comfortable," board member Tom Lundstrum said during the discussion.
Part of the squeeze on space comes from the airport's start as a regional facility, Burkes said in his interview after the meeting. The terminal was first built for passengers of smaller planes; now it serves airliners carrying 150 passengers.
"We should build the biggest thing we can build for what we can afford," board member Blake Woolsey said during discussion. The board will consider the issue further during its regular meeting Dec. 17, members said.
The airport is not the only thing growing in the area. Board members Mike Johnson and Art Morris brought up the issue of development of residential subdivisions in the area, particularly west of the airport. As traffic at the airport grows, the noise of jets taking off over these new neighborhoods will become a source of complaints, they said. The airport has no zoning authority over surrounding areas and needs to do more to convince cities that do have such zoning authority to act, Johnson said.
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