RIC’s August traffic drops 3 percent

Richmond International Airport's passenger traffic was down 3 percent in August compared with the same month a year ago.

"August's decrease was about half the decrease reported nationally," airport spokesman Troy Bell said. "We're encouraged that we continue to outperform the domestic air system as a whole."

The month's traffic "underscores the resiliency of the demand for travel from RIC," Bell said.

Four of the nine airlines serving Richmond International reported traffic increases for the month: JetBlue Airways (12.1 percent), American Airlines (5.1 percent), US Airways (3.4 percent) and United Airlines (0.4 percent).

During August, 302,874 air travelers used RIC, compared with 312,148 in the same month last year, according to Capital Region Airport Commission figures.

Richmond International's recession-depressed traffic bottomed out in March at 13.3 percent below the same month a year ago. Monthly passenger decreases since March have averaged 3.2 percent at the regional field.

US Airways was the airport's market leader in August with 24 percent of RIC's traffic, followed by Delta Air Lines with 23 percent.

Low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and JetBlue each carried 10.2 percent of Richmond's passengers in August. -- Peter Bacqué