Hot Springs Memorial Field received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) AIP (Airport Improvement Program) grant in the amount of $2,083,683 for Stage two of an airport taxiway and apron improvement project that is currently underway. The grant provides the remaining funds needed for the project, which provides additional aircraft parking and safer taxiway intersections. Project completion is expected in mid-2019.
Year-to-date, airport fuel sales revenue has increased 52% over the last year. A large contributor to the increase was Southern Airways (SAE), Hot Springs’ Essential Air Service provider. Following a record-breaking month in July, SAE had an outstanding passenger count of 843 in August, bringing its year-to-date passenger total to 5,910. SAE continues on pace to have its best year for passenger counts since 2003. Along with outstanding passenger loads, SAE posted a completion rate of 99.0% in August, higher than all five top U.S. airlines, according to the flightstats.com database.