Air travel 'showing signs of recovery'

Fresh signs of a recovery in the air travel industry following September 11 emerged today as a survey showed global flight numbers are now down just 4%.

Heathrow’s transatlantic traffic is back to levels seen before the attacks while the number of domestic flights in the UK has gone up.

And while the US market is still struggling to shake off the impact of the atrocities, the picture is slowly improving.

The survey has been compiled by Official Airline Guide, which collects the schedules of more than 850 airlines worldwide.

It measured a 10% drop in the number of global flights two months after the terror attacks as frightened passengers shunned air transport.

OAG’s marketing director Lynne Fraser said: “It is encouraging to see that air traffic is increasing again and in some cases reaching pre-September 11 levels.”

Last week Michael O'Leary, the boss of budget operator Ryanair, said the fallout from the attacks had created huge growth opportunities.

Ryanair reported a 58% surge in annual pre-tax profits after seeing passenger numbers soar as people decided to fly closer to home.

In separate figures last week, rival easyJet showed its passenger numbers were up 61.7% in July compared with a year ago.

Ms Fraser said the competition in the low-cost sector was the likely reason for a 3% growth in the number of UK domestic flights in the past year.

Flights to and from the US and Heathrow are now at the levels seen 12 months ago, compared with an 8% slump two months after the attacks.

But the number of flights to and from the US and Gatwick is currently 20% down on last year, reflecting the pain suffered by traditional operators.

OAG added the number of flights to and from Western Europe and the US is now 13% lower – compared with an 18% drop two months after the terrorist attacks.

US domestic traffic is currently down 7%.