Big drop in passenger traffic is reported at RI airport

Passenger traffic at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., was down 9 percent last month, the sharpest drop in nine straight months of declines.

The Rhode Island Airport Corp. reported that 430,725 people used the airport last month, compared to 475,454 people during the same period last year.

Airport president Kevin Dillon said he attributed the drop to increased fuel prices and a soft economy that is squeezing potential leisure travelers.

Dillon said passenger traffic may rebound in October, when several airlines that serve Rhode Island plan on switching to larger planes and increasing their seating capacity. (AP)