WORLD AIR TRANSPORT STATISTICS 2002 IS OUT NOW

18 July 2002

The 46th edition of IATA's World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) is now available. It remains the most comprehensive and timely source of airline statistical information available. The unique feature of this year's WATS is that, using data provided by more than 200 IATA Member airlines, it presents a complete statistical picture of the year 2001 - the worst in the history of air transport.

* Overall, IATA member airlines carried 1.35 billion scheduled passengers during 2001, a decline of 3.3 percent on 2000 and the first year-on-year decline since 1991. International scheduled passengers declined 2.2 percent. The average passenger load factor on those services fell by 2.2 percentage points to 70.3 %.

* The decline in the freight market was more severe; freight tonnes carried by IATA Members on international scheduled services fell by nearly 7 percent.

* The combination of reduced traffic, falling yields and rising unit costs, with capacity only marginally reduced, produced a net loss of USD 12 billion on international scheduled services.

These are headline findings. WATS has more than 140 pages of data on regional trends, alliance activity, aircraft fleets, employment levels and individual airlines'activity, supplemented by data from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Airports Council International (ACI) and the World Tourism Organisation (WTO).