Local residents are increasingly choosing to fly from Northwest Arkansas National Airport instead of more distant airports, a new study shows.

Federal data,  reviewed by Volaire Aviation Consulting, shows 80% of commercial airline flights purchased by people in the region started from XNA. The 80% figure, representing travel from April 2025 through March this year, is a notable improvement over the 75% of trips that started from XNA in the previous 12 months.

XNA has steadily reduced passenger leakage over the years. The airport’s low point came in 2017 when a study showed XNA was retaining just 61% of travelers, meaning 39% of all fliers were “leaking” to airports in Tulsa, Kansas City and other places.

The new report shows the extent of that shift:

• 61 fewer people a day drove from the area closest to XNA to Kansas City’s airport.
• 45 fewer people a day drove to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
• 37 fewer people a day picked Tulsa International Airport over XNA.

The report shows an additional 164 passengers a day selected XNA vs. driving elsewhere, more than enough people to fill two regional jets.

Leaders at airports nationwide work to reduce leakage because it strengthens their own airport, and improves the local economy. Keeping more passengers at home makes it easier to ask airlines to provide additional air service.

Why leakage is down

XNA’s biggest competition for passengers — Tulsa International Airport — once captured 20% of all travelers who live closest to XNA. The latest leakage study put Tulsa at 7%, and much of XNA’s improvement is tied to the expanded availability of nonstop flights from XNA as well as the addition of low-cost carriers.

XNA offers more nonstop service to New York, along with nonstop flights to Pensacola, New Orleans, Detroit and Philadelphia that aren’t available at Tulsa. When leakage was at its worst in 2017, XNA didn’t have low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, which started its flights to Denver in 2019, or Breeze Airways, which arrived in 2021.

Tulsa offers nonstop flights that XNA does not, including flights to Austin, Seattle, San Diego and Cancun.

When it comes to reducing leakage, perhaps no route illustrates the importance of nonstop service better than the daily nonstop flight offered by Delta Air Lines from XNA to Salt Lake City. A leakage study based on data collected in 2019 showed XNA retained just 49% of the travelers going to Salt Lake City. With XNA now having a nonstop to Salt Lake on Delta, passenger retention on that route has increased to 83%.

It’s a similar story for those traveling to Phoenix. In 2019, XNA retained just 54% of those headed to Phoenix, but American Airlines now offers nonstop flights to Phoenix from XNA. That’s improved retention to 78%.

Travelers who choose another airport are most often headed to Denver, Houston or Seattle. Southwest Airlines, which doesn’t provide service at XNA, goes to Houston and Denver from Tulsa. XNA doesn’t have a nonstop to Seattle, but Alaska Air flies there from Tulsa.

XNA’s passenger retention is particularly high among passengers going to New York/Newark (92%), Charlotte (92%), Destin (92%) and Atlanta (91%).

Flying from XNA benefits Northwest Arkansas

Travelers may choose a more distant airport to save money or take advantage of a nonstop flight that isn’t available at XNA.

What’s not in dispute is that Northwest Arkansas benefits as a whole when a traveler chooses XNA.

A 2016 report called The Economic Impact of Arkansas Airports showed XNA’s impact was more than $463 million annually and is presence in the region is responsible for more than 5,800 jobs.

Flying from XNA also generates the $4.50 passenger facility charge that’s part of every airfare. That money is collected by airlines and ultimately comes back to XNA to support airport operations. When the traveler flies from Tulsa, the Tulsa airport gets that money.

Passenger spending at XNA restaurants and other businesses also supports local jobs.

Passenger data also helps XNA recruit new air service. Each passenger becomes part of the anonymous data collected by the federal government. Airlines can access that data and use it to assess where they should expand. Having more passengers gives XNA an advantage when it comes to recruiting new air service.