Nov. 2--D/FW AIRPORT, Texas--Passenger traffic at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport remains well below normal levels, but travel is slowly increasing after a drastic drop after Sept. 11. 

At a board meeting Thursday, airport officials reported an estimated 26.1 percent decrease from 5 million passengers in October of last year to 3.7 million passengers in October this year. 

Passenger numbers dropped nearly 35 percent in September, as air travel was widely canceled after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 

"We are encouraged by these trends we are seeing at this point, and we are guardedly optimistic about the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year," said Joe Lopano, D/FW executive vice president of marketing. 

Passenger numbers were down industrywide before the attacks. In August, the airport reported a 1.8 percent decline in passengers compared with the previous August. 

If monthly improvements continue, officials expect passenger levels to return to pre-attack levels by summer, Lopano said. 

In the week of Sept. 17-23, passenger levels dropped from 1.1 million in 2000 to 526,000 this year. Traffic rebounded slightly to 661,000 in the next week. In the weeks since, the numbers have improved slightly, remaining down 31 percent in the first week of October, down 27 percent the second week and down 23 percent in the third week. Traffic last week was down 24 percent. 

American Airlines' passenger traffic at D/FW was down 34.7 percent in September and down 28 percent in October, compared with the same periods last year. American Airlines' D/FW passengers went from about 3.5 million in October 2000 to 2.5 million in October 2001. 

AMR Corp., American's parent company, reported last month that the company lost $414 million in the third quarter and continues to lose between $10 million and $15 million a day. 

"American represents nearly 70 percent of our passenger level, and as they see a decline in passengers, we see a decline in revenues -- concession sales, parking revenues, passenger facility charges," Lopano said. 

American's passenger traffic at D/FW may exceed that in other areas, because the airport serves as a hub for the airline and is in a major metropolitan market. The airline's traffic may be off more at regional airports. 

Delta Airlines' traffic was down 37 percent in September 2001, from nearly 800,000 in September 2000 to about 500,000 this year. The airline reported a 21.6 percent decline in October passengers compared with October 2000. 

Several international carriers, dealing with economic losses, suspended service shortly after the attacks. On Thursday, Korean Air announced that it will reinstate its nonstop flights to Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 14. 

Sabena and Japan Airlines are the only foreign carriers that continue to suspend regular flights, although other airlines have cut back. Sabena and JAL suspended service to Brussels, Belgium, and Tokyo, respectively, Lopano said. 

Other airport operations such as ground transportation fleets are struggling to regain normal numbers since the attacks. 

"Airport operations leveled off 15 percent below normal," D/FW Executive Vice President Jim Crites said. 

Taxi, limousine and shared ride operations were down 33 percent in October, compared with the same month last year. Parking revenue in October was 24 percent below the amount forecast in the budget. 

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(c) 2001, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. AMR, DAL, KRNRF, JAPNY,