SINGAPORE (XFN-ASIA) -- International air passenger traffic for September grew 4.7 pct year-on-year, while cargo traffic grew 4.9 pct during the period, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

The passenger load factor for the month was 76.9 pct, it said.

IATA noted that growth in passenger and cargo traffic has been slowing in recent months and is starting to weaken the strong airline revenue environment.

Nonetheless, it is confident that the industry will swing from an expected bottomline loss of $1.7 billion this year to profit next year.

'High load factors are among the most blatant examples of airline efficiency that is driving the industry towards a $1.9 billion profit in 2007, the first since 2000,' IATA's director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement.

Air transport capacity to increase by 14% annually

Over the next five years, China's air cargo transport capacity will increase by 14 percent annually, passenger transport capacity will increase by 14.5 per cent and there will be a 10 percent overall increase in flights on major routes, according to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China on October 30, People's Daily Online reported.

China will gradually increase the capacity of its air transport hubs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong to develop its international air transport industry. This will enable it to operate routes between China and South and Central America, African and Middle Eastern countries as well as add flights to Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. China will also encourage foreign and private investment in its air cargo industry.

It is expected that there will be 190 civilian airports in China by 2010, 50 more than that in the year 2005.