Passenger traffic at Richmond International Airport declined 6.8 percent in July compared to the same month in 2007, according to data from the Capital Region Airport Commission.

"The silver lining is that it's cyclical," Troy Bell, the airport's marketing director told Peter Bacque with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. About 55 percent of the flyers out of Richmond are business travelers and 45 percent are recreational. Both categories shared in the declining numbers.

"Business are pulling their reins in a little closer. [Recreational] passengers have less disposable income," Bell said. "But it's not a Richmond-centric issue. As a community, we're probably in better shape than most out there."

Bell blamed the national economic slowdown, higher ticket prices and fewer available seats, and the demise of low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines, which stopped flying in April.