Northeast Arkansas Leaders Assess Need for New Airport

Source: Federal Aviation Administration

People have been talking about building a regional airport in northeast Arkansas for years, maybe decades. 

“I am a lifelong resident of Lawrence County, and this has been discussed as long as I can remember,” Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp said. “If something has been discussed that long, eventually there becomes a time that someone needs to try to take action.”

State Rep. Jack Ladyman is that someone.

Jack Ladyman

The Republican from Jonesboro persuaded the Arkansas Division of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administration to fund a needs assessment to determine whether there is enough demand to expand regional airport infrastructure or build a new airport altogether. 

Such a facility would host national air carriers, like Delta Air Lines or American Airlines, that would offer flights to hubs such as Dallas or Atlanta, enabling passengers to more conveniently travel to and from other destinations. 

The FAA would have final say whether the project, which could cost up to $250 million or more, is viable. While local communities would contribute, the FAA would also provide most of the construction funding.

The $250,000 study, conducted by Garver of North Little Rock, is still in the first phase of information gathering in a 19-county area in northeast Arkansas, where the closest airports with commercial flights are the Jonesboro Municipal Airport, Memphis International Airport and the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock. 

“There are several factors that will go into this,” Blake Roberson, a senior project manager with Garver, told Arkansas Business. “Is there passenger demand that could support airline service in the region? Then you have to get the airlines to buy into it. You could have all of the demand in the world, but the airlines have to be on board. Then you have to get the FAA on board. The local communities on board.”

Proponents point to the success of the Northwest Arkansas National Airport, which has expanded since opening in November 1998 and boasts direct flights via national carriers to destinations like New York and Los Angeles. Studies have indicated that more travelers choose to fly out of northwest Arkansas than airports in bordering Oklahoma and Missouri.

A bigger airport in northeast Arkansas could keep more tax dollars in the state as people would not have to drive to Memphis to catch a flight, Ladyman said. 

“I am a big economic development guy,” Ladyman said. “A lot of Arkansas money goes across the river to Memphis. We need to keep that in Arkansas. Plus, it would be a big plus for businesses looking to come here if they could fly directly into [the area].”

Determining Demand

Capturing current and potential demand is not easy. Garver analyzes variables including population growth, economic growth, per capita income, key industries and travel patterns.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows about 577,000 residents in the survey area, which stretches from Clay County on the Missouri border to Stone and Cleburne counties in the west and St. Frances and Crittenden counties farther south. 

A public survey on the East Arkansas Planning & Development District’s website had about 3,300 responses as of Wednesday. That survey will end May 5. Garver said it expects results from the first phase to be completed by the end of the summer.

“Economic data has really shown more of a stagnant economic growth in this area, and the forecasted projections out through 2042 show moderate growth over that time period as well,” John Rostas, a senior aviation planner with Garver, said during a March 20 meeting in Pocahontas, one in a series of public meetings on the project.

The next phase of the study will review the region’s socioeconomic outlook and how it would interface with the existing airline industry. This will be used to identify the estimated passenger demand. Subsequent studies may be needed to determine facility requirements or potential airport sites. 

“I’ve told people, ‘I don’t care where the airport is, but it does need to be in the center of the region,’” Ladyman said.

Takeoffs and Landings

While it is possible to obtain data that shows where commercial passengers from northeast Arkansas are traveling to, it is more difficult to assess the travel patterns of arrivals. The FAA does not always track private jets and their passengers, particularly at smaller airports.

FAA data from the Jonesboro Municipal Airport, which has flights to a handful of destinations, like Nashville, Tennessee, and Chicago on Southern Airways Express, provides a snapshot of regional travel demand. 

In 2021, there were 4,041 enplanements from Jonesboro’s airport compared with 1.8 million from Memphis International, 827,922 from Clinton National Airport in Little Rock and 598,787 from Northwest Arkansas National Airport. Memorial Field in Hot Springs had 4,388 enplanements; Fort Smith Regional counted 45,369. 

The data from Jonesboro does not include passengers who arrive on private planes, Manager George Jackson said. 

“These airlines are not in the business of missing out on any market or losing out to a market or a competitor,” Jackson said. “They have pretty good marketing studies, and none of those guys are beating on our door wanting to come to Jonesboro. Is it because we can’t support it? Or is there not a market for it?” 

Jonesboro Municipal has not courted major commercial airlines because of runway limitations, Jackson said. Southern Airways Express is part of a government subsidized Essential Air Service program for small communities. 

Jonesboro Municipal has been undergoing upgrades as part of a “strengthening project” that began in 2014. That includes a plan to lengthen its runway, funded in part by $5 million awarded in December from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Jackson said FAA approvals can take years. Justifying federal money for new runways or other infrastructure involves “a lot of hoops to jump through,” he said. 

“The FAA has to make sure money is used towards a good project that will benefit the public,” Jackson said. “A lot of people just don’t understand how much there is to the funding processes.”

And how much time might it take to get a project like a regional airport off the ground?

“Everything in northeast Arkansas is growing, so you have to start somewhere,” he said. 

“This may happen sometime way out there in the future.”