RIC pleased with small September decline

Passenger traffic was down slightly more than 2 percent for September at Richmond International Airport.

And that's OK, airport officials said today.

"I'm pleased about where we are in our boardings," said the airport's president and CEO, Jon Mathiasen. "We're doing better than many of our peer airports and the domestic airport industry in general."

Passenger traffic is a key measure of an airport's economic health.

The capital region field's passenger volume has been better than expected since the beginning of its financial year in July, officials said.

RIC budgeted for a 3 percent reduction in traffic, said Troy Bell, the airport's marketing and air service development director.

"So far, a quarter of the way through this fiscal year, we're off about 1.8 percent," Bell said.

That came despite a 15.6 percent decrease in the number of airline seats available to Richmond air travelers in September.