Passenger traffic is down at Richmond International Airport, but so are fares. “There are some really good prices,“ said Richmonder Holly Scott, a frequent business traveler. She’s planning a January trip to San Francisco and noted that American Airlines is offering a $189 one-way fare to the West Coast city. With prices like that, Scott said, “I’d fly out of Richmond.“

AirTran Airways will drop its two Richmond-New York City flights in January. The discount airline is losing its leased arrival and departure slots at LaGuardia Airport, officials said. The Orlando, Fla.-based carrier’s last Richmond-LaGuardia flights will be on Jan. 5 “We think it’s regrettable,“ Richmond International Airport spokesman Troy Bell said. “It’s unfortunate that the service could not be sustained.“

Richmond International Airport will host more than 200 area high school students during the Rotary Club’s Aviation Career Day today. Students from schools in Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, James City, New Kent and Charles City are expected at the event at the CSX Hangar. The career day is organized by the Rotary Clubs of Sandston, Henrico East, New Kent and Mechanicsville.

Area travelers can save money and a two-hour drive by flying out of Richmond. Since AirTran Airways returned in June 2005, followed by low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways the following year, competition and passenger capacity at Richmond International Airport have gone up while fares have dropped. “Average fares now are actually more expensive in Norfolk than in Richmond,“ said Kevin Healy, AirTran’s senior vice president of marketing and planning.

By the end of the year, the federal Transportation Security Administration will begin using electronic imaging to screen randomly selected passengers at Richmond International Airport. “We welcome the arrival of this new technology,“ said airport spokesman Troy Bell. “It is our hope that it contributes to safer travel and more efficient passenger screening.“