According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced global international traffic results for September, with passenger traffic declining 2.9%, compared to the same month in 2007.

International load factors tumbled by 4.4% percentage points from August to 74.8% in September.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO said, “The deterioration in traffic is alarmingly fast-paced and widespread. We have not seen such a decline in passenger traffic since SARS in 2003. Even the good news that the oil price has fallen to half its July peak is not enough to offset the impact of the drop in demand. At this rate, losses may be even deeper than our forecast USD5.2-billion for this year.”

This is the first time since the SARS crisis in 2003 that global passenger traffic has shrunk. Capacity cuts were not able to keep pace with the fall in demand. September load factors in all regions fell compared to August.

For September, all major regions reported that passenger traffic shrank, with the exception of Latin American carriers which saw an increase of 1.7%.

Even this is down from the 11.9% growth of the previous month.

African carriers posted the largest decline in traffic (-7.8%), a continuation of the previous month’s trend.

This drop in overall international air traffic does not bode well for Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and its promoter BIAL. The domestic air traffic has reduced drastically, with short-haul traffic all but disappearing. Only a spectacular growth in international flights has enabled BIA a modest 1.5% gain in overall passenger traffic. The recent announcement by the world's largest airline, Air France-KLM, of withdrawal of the Hyderabad Amsterdam route due to poor performance, highlights the problem.

It is imperative for the BIAL consortium to put its thinking cap on and try to raise the domestic traffic, lest the international airlines pull the rug from under its feet.

The Press Trust of India reports that the Government’s decision to shut down the old Bangalore airport could come under fresh legal scrutiny with a parliamentary panel asking civil aviation ministry to respond to charges of “irregularities” in the concession agreement it has signed with the airport developer.

Quoting records of its hearings with the ministry, Airports Authority of India, its employees and the private Bangalore International Airport Limited, the panel said that the clause relating to the old airport closure was brought into the concession agreement “at a later stage... After a demand was made to this effect by BIAL”.

In its report on the functioning of private airports, the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said the concession agreement initially prepared and approved by the Union Cabinet “did not provide for the closure of the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited Airport” in Bangalore.

However, the July 2004 agreement actually signed with BIAL had a clause making it obligatory on the government to notify that the old airport would not be available for commercial civil aviation operations from the date the new greenfield airport became operational, it said.

The Committee, headed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, said the AAI Employees Union (AAEU) had quoted the Aircraft Act to point out that an airport could be closed down only if security of the country and safety of aircraft were endangered. “In the given case of the HAL Airport, both these reasons are not present.”

KLM announced on October 22, 2008, that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is suspending its Amsterdam–Hyderabad service, effective February 1, 2009.

KLM launched flights to this destination in October 2005 in anticipation of a growth in traffic to India.

KLM is suspending this service in response to financial results of this route and local market developments.

All passengers will be booked onto other flights.

KLM continues to serve the Indian market with daily services to both Mumbai and Delhi.

KLM and its partners will continue to focus on India, operating direct flights from Amsterdam and Paris to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Madras.