International traffic drops 7.7 pc in September

Mumbai, Oct 24 (UNI) The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global international traffic results for September, which showed that passenger traffic declined by 2.9 per cent, while cargo traffic dropped at 7.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2007.

International load factors tumbled by 4.4 per cent from August to 74.8 per cent in September, a release issued here today said.

IATA's Director General and Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Bisignani said, ''The deterioration in traffic is alarmingly fast-paced and widespread. We have not seen such a decline in passenger traffic since severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out in 2003.'' ''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.

At this rate, losses may be even deeper than our forecast US doller 5.2 billion for this year,'' said Mr Bisignani.

This is the first time since the SARS crisis in 2003 that global passenger traffic has shrunk. Capacity cuts were not able to keep pace with the fall in demand. September load factors in all regions fell compared to August, the release added.

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