HIGHFILL, Ark. — The Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is currently working on a recruiting campaign to add Southwest Airlines to its roster by 2024, though nothing has been confirmed.
The airport shared Fare Flight NWA's report about the pursuit of the Texas-based airline on its official Facebook account on Dec. 13.
"We would like to make sure everyone understands that this is a huge lift and there is no guarantee Southwest will come to XNA. But we are going to put our best effort into this project," XNA commented on the post.
At an XNA Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 12, airport officials said they will be working with Sky Synergy to develop a plan to recruit Southwest. They will also help determine which Southwest routes would work best for XNA and its travelers.
XNA said they plan to "assemble a group of community leaders to help showcase XNA and Northwest Arkansas to Southwest Airlines leadership," according to a press release from Dec. 14
The decision is up to the airline, but XNA said they would "love to have Southwest Airlines at XNA."
According to comments in the XNA Facebook post and travelers who spoke with 5NEWS today, many Arkansans are excited to potentially have Southwest Airlines at the local airport because of cheaper prices and more convenient traveling.
Rocky Malone, a traveler picking up her checked bags from the carousel on Dec. 14, said, "I spend a couple hundred easily—$250 to $300 round trip that could be spent on the flight coming out of XNA instead. So we would save a lot of money as a family, we would save a ton."
XNA previously debated on bringing Southwest to Northwest Arkansas in 2021, but a study led by Sky Synergy found that recruiting Southwest would not be feasible.
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