The global aviation industry will have to brace for further decline in passenger volume due to the ongoing recession and growing anxieties over the swine-flu pandemic, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said Friday, according to dpa. Asia-Pacific airlines carried 9.9 million passengers in June, a drop of 200,000 people from the month before and 16.5 per cent lower year-on-year. For the first six months of 2009, total passenger volume dipped 11.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, the AAPA said. "The trading environment for Asia-Pacific airlines remains extremely challenging, with further recent declines in passenger demand reflecting ongoing economic weakness as well as public anxieties over government initiatives related to the widening swine-flu pandemic," Andrew Herdman, the association's director-general, said. "As a result, we still haven't seen a floor in terms of overall passenger demand." However, Herdman said that while air cargo volumes continued to be weak, records noted a slow recovery in the first six months of this year. He noted that world airlines have responded to declining passenger loads by reducing capacity, adding that efforts to stimulate demand have also seen some positive effects. AAPA's 17-member airlines recorded 141.5 million passengers last year, a 1.8-per-cent drop from the year before, and a 6.1-per-cent dip in air cargo.
