No Christmas cheer for transatlantic air traffic

The Christmas spirit did nothing to boost air traffic on North Atlantic routes still suffering from the post September 11 economic doldrums, the 28 member Association of European Airlines reported today.

In its weekly traffic bulletin, the association reported traffic between Christmas Eve and December 30 on routes between North America and Europe was down 20.9% from the same 2000 period.

It said since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, traffic has fallen by 31.1% on transatlantic routes and by 12% and 16.7% respectively in Europe and on routes to and from Asia.