The FINANCIAL — The total number of passengers1 transported by air fell by 6% in the EU27 in 2009 compared with 2008, to 751 million, showing the impact of the economic crisis.
This is the first fall recorded in the EU since 2002, marked by the effect of 11 September 2001 on passenger numbers. The number of passengers decreased by 8% on intra-EU flights in 2009, to 318 million, by 4% on extra-EU flights to 271 million and by 5% on national flights to 162 million. Total freight and mail transported by air in the EU27 also fell in 2009 compared with 2008, by 12%.
Quarterly data indicate that air transport has already begun to recover from the effects of the economic crisis. There was a gradual improvement throughout 2009, with passenger numbers falling by 12% in the first quarter, compared with the same quarter of 2008, then by 7% in the second quarter, by 5% in the third quarter and by 1% in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, passenger numbers increased by 2% compared with the first quarter of 2009. Preliminary data for April 2010 indicate that the volcanic eruption in Iceland brought a temporary halt to this recovery, with passenger numbers falling by 18%, compared with April 2009.
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