BANGOR (AP) – Maine’s two largest airports had more passengers than ever passing through them last year, airport officials said.

Bangor International Airport had 480,605 passengers in 2005, the highest number since the airport began tracking domestic passenger numbers 10 years ago. The count was 6 percent higher than 2004’s and 5 percent higher than the previous record, set in 1998.

At the same time, 1,454,027 travelers used Portland International Jetport, a 6.5 increase over the record set in 2004. The airport set single-month records in eight months during the year, officials said.

Much of the growth in Bangor is due to the emergence of regional jet service that offers more destinations and competitive airfares, Airport Director Rebecca Hupp said Thursday.

All of the airport’s flights are now on regional jets, which typically carry 50 to 70 people to major hubs for connecting flights on larger aircraft. The last scheduled turboprop flight out of Bangor was last spring, Hupp said.

“The regional jet allows the Bangor market access to a number of more hubs, and it also allows greater frequency,” she said. “The core of Bangor residents are using (BIA).”

While last year’s numbers climbed, there are concerns about last month’s flight cuts by Delta and American Airlines, particularly for upcoming school vacations, said Diane Bean, a travel consultant at Bangor Travel Services.

“While we still have a lot of people who want to fly in and out of Bangor, our inventory has been cut,” she said. “All of a sudden, wham, they’re taking our service away.”

Still, travel is up as people who have put off trips in recent years finally are ready to take family vacations, Bean said.

“People are traveling today. People are going,” she said.