The FAA on Thursday opened a new air traffic control tower at Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA), replacing a structure that had been installed as a temporary facility in 1998. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) participated in the announcement. The new tower stands about 140 feet tall, roughly two-and-a-half times the height of the previous tower, and provides controllers with an expanded view of the airport’s airfield.
According to the FAA, the tower includes an aviation weather monitoring system, a digital Automated Terminal Information Service and upgraded air traffic communication radios. The facility also incorporates a Voice over Internet Protocol-based voice communication system and a multichannel transceiver designed to support compatibility with modern communication systems used by controllers and other aviation facilities.
“Aviation has changed dramatically over the past three decades, and the importance of air traffic control and the need for more modern technology has only grown since then,” Bedford said.
The agency said the tower is the first to implement a provision of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act requiring two controllers per shift at small- to medium-hub airports. Northwest Arkansas National Airport operates under the FAA Contract Tower Program, with CI² Aviation providing air traffic control services.
I think it would have been helpful if the article had mentioned a few more facts about the airport, e.g., number of daily operations, number of base aircraft, and—oh yeah—WHAT CITY (or cities) IN ARKANSAS THE AIRPORT SERVES.