Passenger boardings fell about 10 percent in October at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport amid the financial meltdown, but traffic is up slightly for the year, figures show.

“People are going to be concerned,” said airport spokeswoman Christina Siebold about the economy.

Boardings for October were 25,475 passengers, or down 10.2 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the airport.

For the year so far, 254,319 passengers have boarded planes at the airport, up less than 1 percent.

“We’re seeing stability in the local economy,” Ms. Siebold said.

She said November’s air traffic numbers should be bolstered by a second flight between Dallas-Fort Worth and Chattanooga and the resumption of Fort Lauderdale nonstops on Allegiant Air.

But in October, even Allegiant, the low-fare carrier which flies to Florida, lost customers compared to a year ago at the airport.

Allegiant boardings were down about 1.6 percent in October. Still, for the year, Allegiant traffic is up more than 35 percent.

Mike Landguth, airport president, said officials are seeing an influx of corporate activity regarding Volkswagen, which is building an assembly plant in Chattanooga.

“I think that will continue to ramp up over time,” he said. “There’s a good opportunity out there.”

Atlantic Southeast Airlines continues to carry the most traffic at the airport, followed by US Airways.

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