European air traffic beginning to recover

European airline traffic in June fell 0.5% from a year earlier, showing signs of recovery, albeit from very low levels, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said.

"The figures reflect the beginning of a diminution in the catastrophic traffic losses on far eastern routs provoked by the reaction to SARS, and a recovery in other regions in other regions from the lingering effects of the Iraq war," the AEA said.