Worldwide air traffic is still down

Airline traffic around the world picked up sharply in June but remains depressed following the SARS crisis, a leading industry official said today.

“The worst is over, but the road to recovery will be long,” said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, which was hit hardest by SARS, saw a 35.8% dive in traffic during June, compared with a plunge of 55% in May.

More than 800 people died from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), most of them in Asia.