Fort Smith Regional Airport. Image published by Talk Business & Politics with its Fort Smith air-service coverage.
Hey Fort Smith — everybody wants more flights out of our airport, and airport officials say they're actively trying to make that happen.
But there's one number working against them right now.
Fewer passengers are boarding flights at Fort Smith Regional Airport so far in 2026.
Airport Director Andrew Meyer gave Fort Smith directors an update this week on efforts to recruit more airlines, destinations and commercial flights.
Fort Smith currently has one commercial airline — American Airlines — and one nonstop destination, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
July passenger boardings at FSM totaled 5,769.
That's down 3.1% from 5,954 in July 2025.
From January through July, the airport recorded 34,853 passenger boardings, down 1.5% from 35,393 during the same period last year.
That may not look like a massive drop.
But when you're trying to convince an airline to put another aircraft and route into a smaller market, passenger demand matters.
Airlines want to know whether people here will actually fill the seats.
There is some good news in the update.
American Airlines is continuing a fourth daily Fort Smith flight into October and November.
More daily frequency gives local travelers more flexibility connecting through Dallas and can make FSM more practical when one departure time doesn't fit an itinerary.
And while DFW is currently Fort Smith's only nonstop commercial destination, that doesn't mean Dallas is where your trip has to end.
Meyer told city directors that travelers beginning their trip in Fort Smith can connect through the American Airlines network to 271 destinations, including 78 international destinations.
So the idea is pretty simple.
You start here.
You connect in Dallas.
Then you continue wherever you're actually going.
The airport is also sitting on something potentially important for recruiting another route.
Fort Smith received a $1.145 million federal Small Community Air Service Development Program grant in 2022.
The original goal was to help recruit new service toward Chicago or another northern or northeastern market.
That grant currently expires in January 2028.
Airport officials are working on extending it and making the funding more flexible so Fort Smith can potentially target additional airline hubs.
The airport is also working with aviation consultant Mead & Hunt to analyze the local market, meet with airline representatives and build the case for additional service.
That's important context because we don't want anybody reading this as “Fort Smith just got a Chicago flight.”
It didn't.
There is no newly announced airline or destination yet.
What's happening is that Fort Smith is actively pursuing those opportunities and has federal money available that could help make a future route more attractive to an airline.
Here's where regular travelers around here become part of the story.
People complain that Fort Smith doesn't have enough flights.
So people drive to XNA or Tulsa.
Then airlines look at the Fort Smith passenger numbers and see fewer people using the local airport.
And adding another route here becomes harder to justify.
It's a frustrating little cycle.
Now, nobody should blindly pay hundreds of dollars extra just because a flight leaves from Fort Smith.
If XNA has a nonstop that's dramatically cheaper and saves half a day, use XNA.
That's common sense.
But Fort Smith is worth checking before automatically assuming the airport farther away is cheaper.
FSM parking currently tops out at $11 per day.
The first 30 minutes are free.
When you're comparing airports, add everything up.
The ticket.
Parking.
Gas.
Mileage on the car.
And the time spent driving an hour or more each way.
That difference matters even more when your return flight gets in late and you've still got another long drive home.
There's also one local travel detail people need to know before showing up too late.
American Airlines' Fort Smith ticket counter closes 45 minutes before departure.
The TSA checkpoint closes 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
The airport recommends arriving at the airline desk about an hour and a half before departure when you need counter service.
FSM is small and usually easy to get through.
That doesn't mean walking through the door ten minutes before takeoff is going to work.
Hey Fort Smith — here's the takeaway:
The airport is actively trying to recruit more flights.
American is keeping a fourth daily flight around this fall.
Fort Smith still has more than $1 million in federal route-development funding available.
But local passenger numbers are slipping, and that makes the pitch to airlines harder.
So next time you're booking a trip, don't automatically assume XNA or Tulsa wins.
Run FSM too.
Compare the actual total cost and hassle.
Sometimes another airport will absolutely make more sense.
Sometimes Fort Smith may be a better deal than it first looks.
Community takeaway: Fort Smith Regional Airport is continuing to recruit additional commercial air service while passenger boardings have slipped 1.5% through the first seven months of 2026. American Airlines is keeping a fourth daily flight at FSM into October and November, and Fort Smith still has a $1.145 million federal air-service grant available to help recruit another route. No new destination has been announced yet, but passenger demand will remain one of the biggest factors airlines consider when deciding whether to add service here.
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Sources: Talk Business & Politics — Fort Smith airport air-service update · Fort Smith Regional Airport — passenger airline information · Fort Smith Regional Airport — parking information · Fort Smith Regional Airport — current traveler information
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