Air travel rises across the world

Airlines had been hoping for better times in 2004

The number of people travelling by air increased by a fifth between January and May, said global airline body Iata.

Releasing its latest international air passenger figures, it said levels rose by 19.4% during the first five months of 2004, compared to a year earlier.

It said the industry had recovered from the Sars outbreak and war in Iraq, with all major regions of the world seeing an upturn in air travel.

The figures are good news for an industry hit by higher fuel prices.

With oil prices recently at historic highs due to the twin pressures of weak supply - most notably caused by the problems in Iraq - and strong global demand, a number of the main airlines have recently put up the cost of their tickets.

The latest Iata figures will be a big moral boost for the industry.

'Dramatic'

"Not only have we recovered from the impact of Sars and war in Iraq, all major regions of the world are reporting traffic levels above those of 2000, the last normal year for our industry," said Iata director-general Giovanni Bisignani.

In May alone, passengers levels on all international routes were up 38% on the same month in 2003 when the impact of Sars and Iraq were at their worst.

The recovery in Asia was even more dramatic, with passenger levels up 108% in May.

According to the Iata the industry is now growing at 3.6% a year.

This however is still only half the rate achieved during the late 1990s.