International air traffic drops sharply in Sept.

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-24 22:50

GENEVA -- Global air traffic dropped sharply in September, a sign of the deepening crisis the industry is suffering, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday.

Passenger traffic declined 2.9 percent while cargo traffic dropped 7.7 percent compared to the same month in 2007, the Geneva-based agency said in a statement.

International load factors tumbled by 4.4 percentage points from August to 74.8 percent in September, it added.

"The deterioration in traffic is alarmingly fast-paced and widespread. We have not seen such a decline in passenger traffic since the SARS crisis in 2003," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO.

"Even the good news that the oil price has fallen to half its July peak is not enough to offset the impact of the drop in demand," he said.

IATA, which represents some 230 airlines comprising 93 percent of scheduled international air traffic, had forecast industry losses of US$5.2 billion this year.

But given the situation in September, losses may be even deeper than the previous forecast, said Bisignani.

According to IATA, all major regions reported declines in passenger traffic in September, with the exception of Latin American carriers, which saw an increase of 1.7 percent. Even this is shockingly down from the 11.9 percent growth in the previous month.

The sharp downturn in world trade disproportionately impacted Asia-Pacific carriers with a 6.8 percent drop in passenger traffic in September.

The steady 5 percent international growth of North American carriers turned into a 0.9 percent contraction.

European carriers also saw a 0.5 percent traffic drop from last year as the region's economies head for recession.

For air freight, all regions except the Middle East and Africa reported negative results in September.

The most alarming drop was with Asia Pacific carriers -- the largest players in the market -- with a 10.6 percent decline.

European and North American carriers, which had seen flat growth through August saw cargo traffic fall 6.8 percent and 6.0 percent respectively.

"The industry crisis is deepening - along with the crisis in the global economy," said Bisignani.

He said airlines are facing enormous challenges, notably fragile finances.

"Unlike other companies, they are denied some basic commercial freedoms - access to markets and to global capital - that could help them manage their business in this difficult time," he pointed out.