The covid-19 pandemic has brought about massive declines in airline passengers all across the country, and Arkansas isn't an exception. But maybe some clouds have silver linings. The number of passengers is slowly increasing at Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
It might not be anything to write home about, but it is enough to write in the papers about: "In July, 25,739 passengers flew out of the airport, compared to 91,222 in July 2019, down 71.7 percent. Clinton National Airport in Little Rock had 37,462 enplanements last month compared to 108,053 in July 2019, down 65.3 percent. Northwest National was down 65.8 percent for August through Thursday compared to the same time period in 2019."
Turns out most of that (slowly) increased traffic (as compared to only the month before) is due to brave vacation travelers rather than business travelers.
The downside to an increase of vacation air traffic is that it'll likely decrease again as summer comes to a close. And vacation travelers aren't spending as much money on things like car rentals and parking as business travelers would.
Still, with the hole airports and airlines are in, any increase is good news for as long as it'll last. Good luck, XNA. When the world finally has a vaccine, and this virus is beaten, you'll still be a vital piece for continued growth in northwest Arkansas.