Sars virus has hammered Asia-Pacific airlines

International aviation figures for April show the Sars virus has hammered Asia-Pacific airlines, with passenger traffic down almost 45 per cent in the region.

Global passenger traffic across all airlines (measured in revenue passenger kilometres, RPKs) was down 18.5 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, according to International Air Transport Association figures (Iata).

Asia-Pacific carriers were hit hardest, experiencing a 44.8 per cent drop in RPKs for the month.

Air New Zealand, which has less exposure to the routes worst-affected by Sars than other airlines in the region, reported last Friday that its group-wide passenger traffic was up 5 per cent for the month. Its international traffic rose 4 per cent.

Iata director-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani's response to the global figures was blunt: "The unprecedented combination of crises the war in Iraq and the Sars has had a disastrous impact on the international air transport industry in an order of magnitude approaching that of September 11."

The slump has not been confined to the Asia-Pacific region North American carriers experienced a 23.5 per cent fall in RPKs for the month. European carriers' overall passenger traffic fell by a less dramatic 4.8 per cent.

Bisignani said the aviation industry's immediate tasks were to rebuild passenger confidence in air transport and reduce costs.

He said since World Health Organisation-recommended screening procedures had been implemented at airports in late March, not a single case of on-board transmission of Sars had been reported.

"We must cut through the hysteria so that travellers can make informed decisions based on facts," he said.