ICAO Numbers Released

Airline passenger traffic typically increases about 5 percent per year, making this year's declines that much more profound. According to numbers released by the International Civil Aviation Organization, international airline travel declined 4 percent this year, while domestic airline travel was down by about 1.8 percent, worldwide. Bucking the trend was the Middle East region, with an overall increase of some 10 percent. Mirroring projections for the general global economy, ICAO predicts a modest rebound next year, with passenger traffic up by an expected 3.3 percent, followed by an increase of 5.5 percent in 2011.