Air traffic up worldwide in 2002, agency reports

By Nicole Ostrow
Bloomberg News Service

MONTREAL — The number of people flying on the world's commercial airlines rebounded this year following 2001's terrorist attacks on the United States, the International Civil Aviation Organization said.

The number of passengers, freight and mail traffic — and the distances they flew — rose 2 percent this year from 2001. That's still about 2 percent to 3 percent below 2000 levels, the United Nations agency said in a statement.

Airplanes had more full seats this year as more people chose to fly and airlines reduced the number of planes in use, Denis Chagnon, an agency spokesman, said in an interview.

Chagnon said he expects air traffic in 2004 to return to levels before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Traffic fell following the attacks as 60 million fewer people flew in 2001 compared with 2000, the agency said in February. The increase this year was more than expected.

"It grew this year and we expect it to grow again next year," Chagnon said. "It takes a while for it to come back."

About 1.6 billion passengers flew on the world's airlines in 2002, while about 30 million tons of freight was carried. Airlines in Asia and the Middle East had the most growth, while those in the United States and Europe had a decline. Passenger air traffic rose about 1 percent in 2002 and freight traffic rose 4 percent.