Airline passenger traffic declines for 9/11

A traveler waits for a flight to New York in a row of empty seats at Boston's Logan International Airport on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A survey of airports by a travel publication suggests airline passengers in significant numbers decided against taking flights on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The Official Airline Guide, OAG Worldwide, Wednesday said it found a 13 percent decline in passenger traffic nationwide among scheduled domestic flights, compared with Wednesday a week ago. Airlines canceled flights in response to slow bookings, the group said.

Among specific airports, Boston's Logan is down 25 percent, Newark Airport in New Jersey dropped 32 percent, Washington's Reagan Airport is off 18 percent, and Dulles Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington is down 15 percent.

Wednesday at Reagan Airport, security teams were seen checking all vans and trucks as they entered the main airport drive. The facility is along the Potomac River within miles of Washington's most cherished landmarks and centers of government power.

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Among passengers coming through the terminal, three told CNN they believe today is perhaps the safest day to fly. A fourth traveler acknowledged he feels uneasy as the anniversary passes, but that he felt secure as he boarded his flight.

At the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center a year ago, airport workers at Reagan -- who were wearing ribbons of red, white, and blue -- paused for a moment in the terminal to reflect on those lost.