Year-end “best of” lists are not especially important, except for the fact that they require the reader to consider all that has changed.
In the case of FareFlightNWA and its annual assessment of all that has happened at Northwest Arkansas National Airport, it is a way to measure success. In short, is my local airport better today than it was at this time last year?
The answer is almost always yes, as it would be truly surprising for XNA’s offerings to be less impressive in a region that is adding to its population so rapidly. In Northwest Arkansas, an airline has more potential passengers living here tomorrow than it does today, and that is why airlines continue to invest in XNA.
With that background, FareFlightNWA shares its annual list of top XNA happenings from the past 12 months. We struggled to decide whether this year warranted a Top 10 or a Top 5 list. We have published both in the past. We landed in the middle, as the list felt stronger than just five but not quite enough to justify 10 wins for the people who matter most: the passengers. As usual, the No. 1 success is at the end.
No. 8: Crystal Bridges at XNA
The conversation about a Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art presence at XNA started long before 2025, but its site opened in July.
The initial project envisioned in 2022 evolved from one focused entirely on Crystal Bridges to one that ultimately included The Momentary, too. There’s a terrific news story that shows off the museum, but you’d do well to check it out for yourself.
No. 7: New Gulf Coast options
Thanks to Breeze Airways and Allegiant Air, Northwest Arkansas gained two new ways to reach Gulf of Mexico beaches popular with tourists.
Allegiant went first with its new nonstop to Gulf Shores, an airport in Alabama that didn’t have commercial service until the airline announced in November 2024 that it would be arriving from XNA, starting in May 2025. The seasonal service restarts May 21, operating every Sunday, Thursday and Saturday.
Breeze Airways soon announced its own plan, taking off from XNA to Pensacola in September, giving Northwest Arkansas yet another way to get to Florida. The airline follows it usual pattern of flying twice a week (Sundays and Thursdays in this case).
Any time an airline is willing to invest in XNA, it is a big deal. Thanks to Allegiant and Breeze for the vote of confidence in Northwest Arkansas.
No. 6: More frequency on American
Airlines do not often announce publicly that they intend to increase service to an existing destination, but it certainly matters when they do.
Because some of XNA’s newest destinations appear to be performing well, including Phoenix and Philadelphia, and because there is always demand for more service to New York LaGuardia, XNA passengers will soon have more options to reach all three.
For years, American Airlines resisted XNA administrators’ request to offer a daily nonstop to Phoenix. That route launched with a single flight in early 2023, proved successful and earned a second flight. A third flight now appears to be a go, starting Jan. 8.
American’s addition of a second daily flight to Philadelphia starting Jan. 7 and a third daily flight to LaGuardia starting March 9 are testaments to how well those routes are performing.
We did not rank this development higher because the true impact of the added flights will be felt in 2026, not this year.
No. 5: Escape Lounge opens
The Escape Lounge at XNA is one of the airport’s best amenities, but there’s a significant fee to gain access to it.
The lounge opened in February, and the people who use is must pay $60 (or $45 if purchased in advance). It opens at 3:45 a.m. each day. Eating a complimentary breakfast, lunch or dinner as part of the deal can work well for travelers on the go.
No. 4: Better payment system
Did you know some people arriving on the last flight of the night into XNA used to sit in the parking lot and wait for the attendant to go home to avoid paying for parking? Really. It was a thing.
Those shenanigans can’t happen with the new payment system that launched in the summertime. Now, using the Metropolis app on a phone, a person can enter the parking lot and leave without much of a fuss. Moreover, Metropolis never clocks out. Everyone pays.
The system works well.
No. 3: Record enplanements in 11 months
This record-breaking this and record-breaking that at XNA is wearing out FareFlight’s huge staff, but it continues to be worthy of attention.
The fact that XNA set its annual passenger record in 2024 in just 11 months was our No. 1 XNA happening last year makes us want to drop it down a bit this year.
The public learned of XNA’s record-breaking 2025 just a few days ago, and the airport sat at 1,161,934 passengers at November’s end.
What will the final number be for 2025? FareFlightNWA’s crystal ball says 1,262,845 passengers for the year. December looks likely to deliver another month of at least 100,000 passengers, but there is no scenario in which XNA reaches 1.3 million this year.
No. 2: Terminal modernization
Construction on XNA’s modernized terminal began in 2023 and is wrapping up now.
The $41.6 million project delivers a new terminal entryway; escalators and elevators in new locations; the Crystal Bridges and Momentary space; new flooring and lighting; the removal of the only moving sidewalk in Arkansas; and a major facelift overall.
No. 1: Delta to SLC
The announcement of the Delta Air Lines’ new nonstop to Salt Lake City was in the No. 2 spot on last year’s list, but shouldn’t the actual start of the flight and its apparent success be No. 1 this year? Yes.
As with any new route, local confidence runs high, but only Delta knows what the numbers suggested was possible.
The data that’s now available suggests the Salt Lake route is going well. XNA in the second quarter of 2024 (before the SLC nonstop) had 29 people a day traveling to Salt Lake as their final destination, using a connection (DFW? Minneapolis? Denver?) to get there. In the second quarter of this year, it was up to 46 a day, and it’s almost certain the majority are on that nonstop.
That figure does not include travelers using Salt Lake City as a connecting point, meaning the 76-seat aircraft is likely operating close to full.
So there you have it. Salt Lake City. No. 1 in the eyes of FareFlightNWA.
