Spring-break travelers in March helped Northwest Arkansas National Airport rise above 100,000 passengers for the first time this year.
The 105,414 people who departed from XNA mark the start of what airport officials expect to be a stretch of months with at least 100,000 passengers. The airport reached that figure eight consecutive times last year, from April through December.
XNA saw 1.26 million passengers in 2025, an enplanement record for the airport. So far this year, traffic is running 5.3% ahead of that pace.
The airport’s busiest days last month were March 19 and 20. Public schools in Northwest Arkansas were closed the following week for spring break, so a surge in departures aligned with those especially busy days.
Summertime Increase
The airport’s biggest days and months this year are still to come. That higher level of travel should begin in May and continue through July. Airlines make that increase possible by adding flights to their schedules and using bigger planes on existing nonstop routes.
Some of the largest increases in seat capacity at XNA this summer, compared to May, June and July last year, are United Airlines flights to Chicago O’Hare and Denver; Delta Air Lines to Atlanta; and American Airlines to DFW, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Miami.
With increases on those routes and others, the overall seat capacity at XNA is higher in May (6.1%), June (7.3%) and July (11.3%) compared with the same months last year.
Allegiant More Conservative
The only airline that will not increase flying at XNA this summer compared to a year ago is Allegiant Air.
Some of that decrease is occurring because Allegiant ended its service to Los Angeles International Airport, which it served from XNA last summer.
The other notable change is that Allegiant often makes big increases in its summer flying from XNA to Destin, Las Vegas, Orlando, St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Fort Lauderdale. The increases to those destinations won’t be as substantial this summer.
The Allegiant schedule overall will be 22.1% smaller from XNA than it was in May, June and July last year.
