Texarkana airport provides incentives to American Airlines in effort to keep commercial flights from Dallas from ending

Texarkana Regional Airport is seen on Nov. 20 in Texarkana, Ark. The airport is getting a new terminal and a flight training school will be built. Dr. Kenny Haskins, the Arkansas-side city manager, anticipates even more growth to come for the airport and the rest of the city.
Texarkana Regional Airport is seen on Nov. 20 in Texarkana, Ark. The airport is getting a new terminal and a flight training school will be built. Dr. Kenny Haskins, the Arkansas-side city manager, anticipates even more growth to come for the airport and the rest of the city.

TEXARKANA, Ark. - Texarkana Regional Airport is putting a four-month hiatus on American Airlines' landing fees to keep the airline flying into and out of the Twin Cities.

That amounts to about a $32,000 loss in revenue for the airport.

"They (American Airlines) will be able to work out of here longer and we will be able to stay open longer and run normally," said Paul Mehrlich, the airport's executive director.

One Wednesday, the local Airport Authority unanimously approved waiving the airlines' landing fees from April 1 to Aug. 1.

However, the airport has a $35,000 contingency fund from implementing fuel flowage fees a few years back. Of that, about $26,000 will go toward the revenue loss the airport will experience from waiving the landing fees, Mehrlich said. The remainder of the money will go toward fence repairs.

Amid the pandemic and its downturn on flights, American Airlines is currently looking to cut its operations by about 40 percent, Mehrlich said.

American recently indicated it was contemplating leaving three of Texas' smaller markets to cut costs. The airline also flies out of nearby Tyler and Longview.

Currently, American's plan is to sideline larger airplanes that hold about 150 passengers and fly out major airport. Instead, the airline wants to use smaller aircraft that hold about 60 passengers in those larger markets, such as a flight from Dallas to Chicago.

The smaller, regional aircraft, such as the Embraer ERJ 175, fly out of Texarkana. To get access to these smaller aircraft, American must stop services at some of its smaller airports, Mehrlich said.

By using the smaller planes in the larger markets, it ensures flights are fuller, which improves profitability chances.

Should another round of airline operation cuts be necessary, Mehrlich says he hopes Wednesday's elimination of landing fees at the Texarkana airport will work in the community's favor.

"There may have to be further cuts. The hope is because we made these moves early on, we will be further down that list if they make any more cuts. We don't know how much worse it will be," he said.

Mehrlich said adverse effects on the travel industry from the Coronavirus crisis is not the first turbulence Texarkana Regional Airport and American Airlines have endured together.

"We worked with them to stay and they stood by us during 9/11 We are going to work with them now because we understand the world has become a little crazy lately. We are in this together," he said.

Locally, the airport has also experienced a downturn in travel as it mostly gets business travelers. With conferences and seminars, cancelled, it has caused cancellations and fewer bookings, Mehrlich said.

Another cost-cutting measure local airport officials are taking is an immediate hiring freeze.

Mehrlich said that means a night security officer and a firefighting position will not be refilled.

Additional hand sanitizer stations and nightly cleanings of the terminal have also been implemented.

"We want to make sure the people know we are open and are still operating. We will continue to do so as long as it is deemed safe by the CDC," he said.

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