TEXARKANA, Arkansas - Texarkana Regional Airport Board members approved purchasing 38 acres of land for aeronautic development during a Thursday morning meeting.
The purchase price is $323,000 with the airport's match being $73,000. Federal Aviation Administration and Arkansas Department of Aeronautics funding will be used to purchase the land.
Airport officials hope to have air cargo operations and other aeronautical development on the land, which is adjacent to the airport.
The 38-acre tract appraised at $9,960 an acre. However, the asking price for the land is $8,500 an acre.
Richard Reynolds, a local real estate broker whose clients currently own the land, said the its topography is high and the timber appraised at $32,760.
The land purchase must now be approved by the Texarkana Texas City Council and the Texarkana Arkansas Board of Directors, which jointly provide funding to the local airport.
In other business, Paul Mehrlich III, Texarkana Regional Airport executive director, said the airport's operations count was back to 2019 levels with an uptick in military air traffic.
Commercial air travel from Texarkana Regional Airport is also increasing.
In April 2019, 3,100 people boarded a commercial flight in Texarkana. That number dropped to a historic low in April 2020 with 219 enplanements early in the pandemic. But last month, the airport reported about 2,600 people boarding a plane, Mehrlich said.
He also said that while the airport currently has three commercial inbound and outbound flights daily, American Airlines is predicting and, at least at this point, booking four daily flights for the airport in August.