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IATA says air passenger demand growth declined

Aug. 5, 2008, Washington – International air cargo volume fell in June,
while passenger demand growth slowed, the International Air Transport
Association said Monday, citing global economic woes.

Cargo contracted by 0.8 per cent compared with June 2007. It was the
first such decline seen since May 2005 and follows several months of
falling manufacturing sector confidence indicators.

Passenger demand growth fell to 3.8 per cent, the lowest level since 2003, IATA said.

Passenger load factors dropped to 77.6 per cent, 1.2 percentage points below the 78.8 per cent recorded for June 2007.

IATA said the situation could get worse with consumer and business
confidence falling and persistently high oil prices. It also noted that
the airline sector is in trouble, with billions of dollars in losses
expected this year.

IATA represents 230 airlines comprising 93 per cent of scheduled international air traffic.