May 22, 2023 - Transit

XNA sees most-ever travel ahead of Memorial Day

Alex Golden

Illustration of a airplane wearing a flower lei — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Northwest Arkansas National Airport has more than bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the numbers: XNA had more than 80,700 tickets flying out this March, up 14.5% from March 2019. The airport saw an 8.5% increase from April 2019 to the same month this year, with 77,404 enplanements, airport spokesperson Olivia Moore told Axios.

The first quarter of 2022 was up 11.2% in tickets from the first quarter in 2019 — the airport's busiest year until the pandemic.

What they're saying: "It has been the busiest March and April in airport history," Moore said.

"We are expecting and prepared for a busy Memorial Day," she added.
She recommends arriving at the airport at least two hours before a flight.

Driving the news: AAA estimates that 42.3 million Americans will travel this coming weekend — up 7% over last year. It's projected to be the third-busiest Memorial Day weekend ever.

That's 2.7 million more people who will travel for the unofficial start of summer in comparison to 2022, which could be indicators of what's to come, Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes.

Details: Top tourist destinations in the U.S. this Memorial Day weekend include: Orlando, Florida, along with New York City and Las Vegas, AAA booking data shows. European cities are the most popular for international destinations, including Rome; Paris; Dublin; London; Barcelona, Spain and Athens, Greece.

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XNA sees most-ever travel ahead of Memorial Day

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