Arkansas is home to 98 public airports, eight with commercial passenger service. The rest are considered “general aviation” airports and include all aspects of civilian flying outside of scheduled commercial flights. GA airports support a wide range of activity, including business and recreational travel, aerial firefighting, air medical flights, air cargo flights, agricultural support, law enforcement operations and disaster relief.
The airstrips play an important role in the state and national economies and provide critical access to remote communities otherwise cumbersome to reach. In Arkansas, they account for an estimated annual economic boost of $468 million, the National Business Aviation Association states.
Nationally, general aviation delivers an estimated $246 billion impact and 1.1 million jobs, while business aviation at smaller, local airports contributes roughly $150 billion to the U.S. economy and an estimated 1.2 million jobs.
Dave Krutsch, airport manager at Rogers Executive Airport, said GA airports not only have a positive economic impact, but they represent an integral component to airport systems across the state, region and country.
GA airports like Rogers Executive Airport, above, represent an integral component to airport systems across the state, region and country. (Photo courtesy of Rogers Executive Airport)
“Many prospective economic site consultants view the availability of safe and efficient airports and air transportation facilities as a top 10 criteria when evaluating potential development sites,” he said. “We are blessed in northwest Arkansas with several great airports, and this has no doubt played an important part of the region’s growth.”
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems lists 3,287 airports in the United States. Just 11 percent — 390 of them — support scheduled commercial passenger service. Arkansas is home to two “national” airports with multiple direct flights to cities across the U.S. — Bill and Hillary Clinton National in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas National in Bentonville — and six regional airports that offer commuter flights to neighboring hubs — Fort Smith Regional, Texarkana Regional, Boone County Regional in Harrison, Hot Springs Memorial Field, Jonesboro Municipal and South Arkansas Regional in El Dorado.
Both Clinton and XNA saw more than 2 million total passengers in 2024, back up to pre-COVID-19 levels, but it is the smaller strips like Rogers Executive that play a crucial role in their communities.
“Business aviation helps companies increase efficiency and productivity, gain a competitive advantage, provide time-critical access to key remote locations, and, ultimately, to improve their bottom lines,” Krutsch said.
Local airports serve as key gateways to commerce, opportunity and global connectivity, said Jerry Chism, director of the division of aeronautics at the Arkansas Department of Commerce.
“Their economic impact is immense and cannot be overstated,” he said. “In the past, communities competed on a local scale to attract and retain businesses. Today, that competition has expanded to a global stage, making access to international markets and opportunities more important than ever.”
Like many in the industry, Chism likes to remind listeners of the old quip, cliched but true: “While a mile of highway takes you a mile down the road, a mile of runway can take you anywhere in the world.”
Chism said smaller GA airports are important links in the global travel chain, providing access to the world and economic growth through tourism, recreation and commerce.
“Arkansas is home to 90 public airports, each making a positive economic impact in its community,” he said. “These airports support economic growth by facilitating commerce and tourism, strengthening local businesses, and enhancing regional development. Their impact extends far beyond the runway, helping Arkansas thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.”
Chism’s job is to guide his team in the development and enhancement of the state’s airports. The division of aeronautics oversees the State Airport Aid Program, which distributes grants to support vital infrastructure improvements.
“Arkansas’ airports are among the best in the nation, and we take great pride in their success,” he said. “The program plays a vital role in maintaining their excellence, helping to strengthen our aviation network and support the state’s growth.”
This time of year, traffic starts to pick up at Heber Springs Municipal Airport. Manager Charlie Evans said activity picks up in the warmer months as vacationers and outdoors enthusiasts fly in from across the state and region to recreate at Greers Ferry Lake or the Little Red River, which is world famous for its trout fishing.
“We’re an easy commute for a small airplane,” he said. “It’s less than an hour from Memphis and about an hour and a half from Dallas or St. Louis.”
The Heber Springs airport is a certified Federal Aviation Administration repair station with jet and aviation fuel available 24/7. Its roughly 4,000-foot runway accommodates single and multiengine planes, which Evans noted are almost all American made.
“There are few planes foreign built anymore,” he said.
The city-owned airport has seen recent improvements, he added, including runway and taxiway expansion, the addition of LED lights, and GPS approaches for each end of the runway.
Down in Jefferson County, Doug Hale’s journey to managing Pine Bluff Regional — the historic Grider Field — 20 years ago was one of the full-circle variety. His father a pilot, Hale grew up at the airfield. He remembers riding his dirt bike on the grounds and being run off by one of the former airport managers.
Pine Bluff’s Grider Field plays host to formation flying clinics and other aviation-related events.
(Photo courtesy of Pine Bluff Regional Airport)
Pine Bluff enjoyed commercial air service from 1947 to the late 1980s or early 1990s, Hale said. These days, business revolves around private, corporate and military flights. Often, Pine Bluff serves as a way station for travelers flying long distances in smaller planes or jets or pilots simply dodging bad weather.
“We’re a perfect fuel stop, and we receive visitors who stay overnight,” he said. “Our primary purpose is business. Union Pacific and both paper mills [global producers Suzano and American Kraft], they all use our airport. We keep a courtesy vehicle at the airport. You never know who’s going to fall out of the sky.”
Over the years, “falling stars” who touched down in Pine Bluff have included Elvis Presley, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Jerry Jones, Michelle Obama, Reese Witherspoon and Ashley Judd. One falling preacher fell out of the sky into the woods a few miles south of the airport in February. He was flying his 1981 twin-prop Beechcraft 58P back home to Texarkana from an engagement in North Carolina. He walked away without a scratch, but the plane was totaled.
Hale was one of the first officials on the scene the night the plane went down and then, again, the morning after. He said the Pine Bluff staff tries to focus on good customer service, and Hale led by example. He said the exceptional service extends to the acclaimed Grider Field Restaurant, which he called “the best of any airport.”
Grider Field was commissioned in 1941 as a primary World War II training base. Hale said more than 10,000 war pilots received their wings at Grider, which boasts a 6,000-foot-long runway. These days, the airport still plays host to some military traffic, but it mostly sees business-related traffic, followed by recreational. The airport also plays host to formation flying clinics, Black Pilots of America clinics and women’s Air Race Classic events.
Hale called it unfortunate that smaller airports can sometimes be looked upon as “a playground for the rich with their toys” and stressed that nothing could be further from the truth.
“We are contributing to the local tax base,” he said. “A runway is like an interstate or a highway. It has all kinds of uses. Local airports serve their communities in many ways.”
In Rogers, the airport is not a haven for executives as its name suggests, though many C-suiters pass through its terminal. It serves the city in multiple ways, as well. Krutsch said it is a dynamic GA airport that serves the domestic and international air transportation needs of the city and region. In a metropolitan area home to multiple Fortune 500 companies and their global vendors, the services provided at Rogers Executive Airport are in high demand.
“While business aviation accounts for the majority of the airport’s activity, Rogers Executive Airport is also the gateway for many visitors to area attractions,” Krutsch said. “The airport provides support for important community services such as aeromedical flights, search and rescue missions, recreational travel and tourism, and occasional support for military, law enforcement and emergency response.”
Infrastructure catch-up is the name of the game in northwest Arkansas, which remains one of the nation’s fastest growing metros after experiencing hypergrowth for the last three decades. The U.S. Census Bureau even projected that the NWA metro, which had an estimated population of 600,000 in 2023, would surpass central Arkansas, which has roughly 750,000 people, in population by 2050.
Krutsch said the Rogers airport is not immune from the need to stay ahead of the game. Accelerated expansion plans are in the works, he said.
“The Rogers Executive Airport remains focused on accelerating expansion plans to accommodate the region’s growth, including the growing demand for aircraft storage capacity,” he said. “A number of new hangars have recently been completed or are in some stage of design and/or construction.”
Back at the state’s division of aeronautics, Chism said Arkansas’ smaller commercial airports and GAs will continue to play a vital role by helping bridge the gap between rural areas and the rest of the world and showcasing the state as a place to do business.
“This connection not only enhances accessibility but also fosters business growth, particularly in regions without direct access to major commercial air service,” he said. “Airports play a crucial role in driving economic growth for our state, acting as the front door to cities — and you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
Chism said local communities must have well-maintained, accessible airports to attract new companies or support the growth of existing ones.
“When corporate executives visit a community to consider a location there, they’re not coming on a Greyhound bus — they’re flying in,” he said. “A strong airport system is absolutely critical to attracting and retaining businesses that will help ensure a strong Arkansas economy and our role in the worldwide marketplace.”
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