International air traffic has dropped by 17 per cent since the terrorist attacks on America on September 11.
According to figures released by the International Air Trnasport Association(IATA) this afternoon, the drop corresponds in size to the drop in traffic in the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991.
Passenger traffic on the international scheduled services of IATA airlines declined 17 per cent in September, compared to September 2000, and, as a result, have wiped out signs of any growth in traffic for the first nine months of this year.
Carriers, the IATA says, have been unable to adjust their seat supply quickly enough while passenger loads fell from 78 per cent in August to 69 per cent in September.
During the first nine months of 2001, total traffic (passengers plus freight) fell by nearly 3 per cent, against a total capacity increase of 2 per cent.
Carriers most severely affected were those registered in North America. Their passenger and freight traffic fell more than 30 per cent in September.
European and Far Eastern carriers experienced a 12 per cent fall in passenger traffic overall, but carriers with a high US component in their services fared worse.