BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Passenger traffic was down 3 percent at Burlington International Airport in the first two months of this year, but officials say they were expecting worse.

The decline follows two consecutive record-setting years. The number of passengers departing from the airport dropped 6 percent in January compared to the same period the previous year, but things leveled off in February.

Airport director Brian Searles told the Burlington Free Press that given the recession, the airport will be happy to hold its own this year. AirTran Airways plans to stop service from Burlington to Baltimore in September, but Searles says he is still working on ways to preserve that route.