PORTLAND (AP) — Passenger numbers at the Portland International Jetport have slowly started to climb after four consecutive years of declines.

There was a 1.4 percent increase in passengers passing through the jetport in the first six months of this year when compared to the same time-period last year.

Portland’s passenger traffic is ahead of the national figure, which increased by about 0.3 percent in the first half of 2013 compared with the year-ago period.

Jetport director Paul Bradbury told The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/15pddFK ) that although modest, the gains are good news. He said the region does not have a lot of population growth, so the goal is to capture a larger share of the market.

The jetport is owned and operated by the city but is funded without taxpayer revenue.