Little Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport at Adams Field is located about two miles east of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. In 2005 the 2,000-acre airport served 2.5 million passengers from three runways and a helipad. The airport supports around 150 arrivals and departures each day. The largest carrier at Little Rock National Airport is Southwest Airlines.
The airport is named for Captain George Geyer Adams of the 154th Observation Squadron of the Arkansas National Guard. Adams was killed in the line of duty in September 1937. The first air service to the city was provided by American Airlines in June 1931. In World War II the field was a base for antisubmarine patrols and pilot training exercises.
The present terminal dates to 1972 and has twelve gates. The worst crash in the history of Adams Field occurred on June 1, 1999, when American Airlines Flight 1420 skidded off the end of the runway during a thunderstorm killing eleven people.
Several aeronautics businesses are located on or near Adams Field, including Dassault-Falcon Jet and Hawker-Beechcraft.
In 2004 the City of Little Rock decided to change the name of the main thoroughfare feeding the airport from "Confederate Boulevard" to "Springer Boulevard" in advance of international attention expected surrounding the Clinton Library dedication.
Traveler's Amenities
Coming in the main doors of the Little Rock airport, one will see the ticket counters to various airlines. After checking in and depositing any checked luggage, one will proceed to the left where there are stairs and an escalator. For the convenience of people waiting for friends, family, and guests, there is a Starbucks on the first level. An arrangement of chairs and tables allows waiting parties to enjoy a mocha or muffin as they await the arrival of planes. Above the café area, there are T.V. screens which display an area where all arriving passengers will have to walk in order to reach baggage claim. Thus, waiting parties can watch for their specific friend or guest and know precisely when they have arrived.
On the second floor of the airport there is a gift store. The gift store offers a variety of merchandise including candy and snack items, magazines, and a selection of Arkansas apparel. Across from the gift store is the Riverbend Bar and Grill restaurant, where passengers waiting to depart, or people waiting for passengers may pass the time. the restaurant is before the security station however, so it is important to budget one's time in the Grill, if one is a departing passenger, so that there will be time enough to get through security and to the designated gate before departure.
Terminal
Since the Little Rock airport is on the smaller side, getting through security is often not terribly time consuming. Another advantage of the Little Rock airport being small is that it is easy to find one’s way around. Past security, there is not an abundance of gates and terminals, signs and arrows all pointing to different directions. All gates are on the same level (the second level) and all are relatively close to one another. Depending on where one wishes to travel, it may be difficult to get a direct flight from the Little Rock Airport. It is likely that one will have to go through Dallas, Memphis, St. Louis, or another larger airport in order to reach one's final destination.
