Airlines in the Asia-Pacific face a tough future as the global financial crisis bites deeper, an industry group warned today after passenger and cargo traffic fell sharply in September.

china spring airline aircraft 190106 Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said airlines will suffer a decline in revenue caused by the global slowdown.

"We are braced for a very rough ride over the next few months as the global economic slowdown begins to bite hard," he said in a statement.

Herdman said AAPA members had reported sharply lower passenger and cargo traffic volumes in September, with international passenger numbers declining 6.6 percent to 11 million compared to the same month last year.

International air cargo traffic fell 9.0 percent.

Sharp deterioration

The AAPA had witnessed a sharp deterioration in the operating environment in the past few months, Herdman said, adding: "Air cargo demand slumped in the summer and is still falling, even though this is normally the peak shipping season."

He said rapidly weakening consumer confidence affecting markets across the world would hurt air travel.

For the first nine months of the year, the AAPA's passenger traffic grew by just 1.6 percent from a year ago while cargo traffic contracted 1.6 percent.

Herdman said lower oil prices "will not compensate for the expected revenue shortfall."

He added: "Airlines will continue to take all possible steps to stay afloat, including reviewing capacity adjustments and making sure that fares remain competitive to attract incremental business."