Passenger traffic down, cargo up at airport

Passenger traffic at Reno-Tahoe International Airport during August was down 6.4 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Cargo shipments, meanwhile, were up 183 percent over year-earlier figures and reached the highest level for a non-holiday month. Cargo shipments are viewed by some observers as a good proxy for the health of the regional economy.

Passenger numbers were down, airport executives said, because of the bankruptcy of Northwest Airlines, the reduction of flights by American Airlines and the use of smaller aircraft on some routes by America West/US Airways.