Two commuter jets sit on the pavement at Roanoke Regional Airport, which has 27 daily departures.

Photos by ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Air travelers leave Roanoke Regional Airport recently. Passenger counts are a key measure for small, regional airports.

Travelers are returning to Roanoke Regional Airport.

In May, nearly 9 percent more people flew through Roanoke's airport than did in May 2009 -- or three times the U.S. growth rate.

It was not a one-month blip, either.

Growth continued in June at 3 percent.

Roanoke's passenger traffic was up 5 percent in July from a year ago, bringing total passenger loads for the first seven months of the year to 354,327. That represents an increase of nearly 4 percent over the passenger count of 341,279 for the same period of 2009.

Passenger traffic is a key measure for a small, regional airport such as the one in Roanoke, which has 27 daily departures. Right now, airport officials are looking for passenger loads to rebound after a tough recession that saw traffic fall in 2008 and fall further in 2009.

Jacqueline Shuck, who directs the airport, said that if current rates of passenger traffic continue, the airport will finish this year on par with 2008 -- a good start on a comeback from the recession.

If the recovery stalls, passenger loads, which track with the economy, will likely follow in the same direction -- toward a flat finish or even downward.

"Got a crystal ball?" Shuck asked.

In spite of that uncertainty, the airport is making extensive physical improvements.

Crews have resurfaced much of the airfield during the past several years, work paid for almost entirely with grants and with little local money -- a feat cited when Shuck was named Virginia Airport Manager of the Year last month by the Virginia Department of Aviation.

With 21 years as the airport's executive director, "she's helped bring Roanoke airport where it is," said Larry Omps of Winchester, a member of the Virginia Aviation Board.

Up next, a highway crew will break ground in the spring on a new airport entrance during the planned $2 million reconfiguration of the intersection of Towne Square Boulevard, Aviation Drive and Thirlane Road.

In the terminal, the Transportation Security Administration has agreed to provide two Explosive Detection System scanners that will replace the protocol of open-luggage inspection at check-in. Contractors' bids are scheduled to be opened next month for related building work.

Meanwhile, a crew is placing new lights and paint in the tunnel that carries Airport Road under a runway.

Shuck said the airport remains focused on discussions with airlines designed to expand the number of flights and improve fares.

A sizable share of the population in the airport's primary market area flies part or all of the time through other airports, according to a study that established the airport's "leakage" rate at 39 percent in 2009.

Airport spokeswoman Sherry Wallace said travelers choose other airports for cheaper fares or because they want access to a particular flight or airline.

Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport (which has lured two low-cost airlines, JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways) is the next-preferred airport for Roanoke area residents, followed by Piedmont Triad International Airport near Greensboro, N.C., and Washington Dulles International Airport, which are tied for third.

At the same time, officials said, Allegiant offers low rates to Florida that attract passengers from other markets as far as two hours away by automobile. So Roanoke's airport benefits from the leak phenomenon, too.

And, there is new business in the airport's primary service area.

The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke expects to use Roanoke airport heavily. Executive Director Michael Friedlander said investigators, scientific staff and visitors will generate 715 flights a year once the institute is fully staffed.