Airport: No Political Fix

Opponents of a new airport in Northwest Arkansas have attempted to stop its development by claiming that some sort of political fix is on. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Early planning for a new airport began as a bipartisan effort in the early 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s as companies in the region began to expand and the area underwent a boom period. Since 1960, the region's population has increased 132 percent and passenger enplanements at the existing facility have increased more than 270 percent in the last 10 years.

The ability of the existing facility at Fayetteville to expand is severely constrained because of approach and terrain limitations, and the field has an extremely large number of flight cancellations and delays because of fog. The runway is only 6,006 feet long, and the airport does not have an instrument landing system. Furthermore, because of the terrain limitations, the addition of an ILS still would not increase substantially airport safety. Without an ILS, jet service cannot be offered at the airport - passengers must now travel to Dallas/Fort Worth or Memphis for nonstop service.

In the early 1990s, prior to President Clinton's election, local communities (the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale , Rogers, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and Washington and Benton counties) formed an airport authority under state legislation to begin the necessary work for a new airport. This was a bipartisan effort, strongly supported by politicians, business leaders and citizens. The project has maintained strong support from the surrounding communities. For example, during the 1992 elections, 74 percent of the people in that area renewed their commitment to continue airport planning and representation on the regional authority.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not initiate airport projects, but provides funding for locally developed efforts which have demonstrated merit. Over the past four years, approximately $7 billion in federal monies have been distributed to deserving projects like this one. For its part, the FAA's involvement in the development of the Northwest Regional Airport has been done by the book.

David R. Hinson
Administrator, FAA
Washington, D.C.