Huntington, W.Va. — For the second straight month more than 10,000 passengers departed from Huntington Tri-State Airport, representing the highest monthly boardings in at least 20 years, according to reports released Thursday during the monthly meeting of the Tri-State Airport Authority.

More than 10,900 travelers departed from the airport in July 2009 — a 31 percent increase compared to the same month in 2008. Year-to-date boardings (62,160) are up 21% compared to the first 7 months of 2008 (51,227).

Allegiant Air, which provides non-stop, low fare service to Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, and Myrtle Beach, carried 62 percent of the airport’s passengers in July, and posted a 39 percent increase over July 2008.

The numbers were further boosted by Delta Air Lines, posting a 68 percent increase in boardings over the same month last year. Delta added a third flight to Cincinnati in July, which contributed significantly to the strong increase.

Charlotte service on US Airways remained relatively constant.