Total passenger traffic at Richmond International Airport was up nearly 4 percent in September compared with the same month last year, making it the busiest September ever recorded with a passenger count of 301,895.

Airport spokesman Troy Bell said the airport staff had feared a dro-off this year given the uptick in traffic in September 2015, driven in part by the UCI cycling races in Richmond last year.

The previous September record was set in 2007, Bell said. For the calendar year to date, passenger traffic is up 1 percent.