BACKGROUND:

In November 1998, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (NWARA) opened in Highfill, Arkansas. The decision to build the airport was a controversial one, in part, because the new facility was intended to replace Fayetteville's Drake Field, a municipal airport that many believed could provide adequate regional air service well into the future. Over the past few years, stories about NWARA have appeared in the national press, including a segment on ABC's 20/20 program. The airport was also the subject of a General Accounting Office investigation (see below). Much of the support for the new airport came from several large corporations headquartered in Northwest Arkansas. For more background on NWARA please refer to the investigative reports appearing in Counterpunch and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

MISCELLANEOUS:

NWARA Message Board 

A threaded WWW discussion forum about the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport

GAO/RCED-97-179R Compliance With Federal Grant Requirements

The entire General Accounting Office report on NWARA including Enclosure I and Enclosure II

Remarks by President Bill Clinton at NWARA opening ceremonies

A press release from the White House, Nov. 6, 1998.

Letter supporting NWARA signed by local businesses

Sixty NWA businesses announce "a collective commitment...to utilize the new new regional airport for commercial air service...and encourage our vendors and suppliers to use the new airport as well".

Drake Field/Fayetteville Municipal Airport Home Page

Airport information for passengers, pilots, and local residents

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (NWARA) Home Page

History, airport facts, press releases, images, aviation links, business/employment opportunities, and air carrier information

XNA.COM

An unoffical Web site for NWARA

Deja vu -- Controversy surrounds a proposed regional airport project in West Virginia

Follow the debate in the Charleston, (W. Va.) Daily Mail. Includes stories about NWARA and Drake Field.

Various Published Items Concerning NWARA & Drake Field

Links to over 100 news articles and press releases from 1993 to the present