Air traffic falls 6% in 2001

Print Article E-Mail Article

During the year 2001, total traffic of IATA airlines (passengers plus freight) fell by nearly 6%, against a seat capacity decrease of less than 1% the association said today.

IATA director general and ceo Pierre Jeanniot said: "The forecast that we made in the immediate aftermath of September 11, of the first year-on-year fall in international scheduled traffic since 1991, has materialised."

IATA passenger traffic declined nearly 12% in December and more than 4% for the year as a whole. Similarly airlines cut seat supply capacity by 11% in December.

"There are two hopeful signs," continued Jeanniot. "Capacity cuts in December were in line with the market conditions, and we know from our Corporate Air Travel Survey that a pick-up in business travel may not be far away."

• Extracted from IATA Monthly International Statistics. More detailed reports may be purchased from Patrick Folley at IATA's Aviation Information & Research Department, London.  E-mail: stats@iata.org