The International Air Transport Association said March global airline passenger traffic grew more slowly than it did a year earlier

. "The slowdown in the demand growth continues the sharp downward trend which began in December 2007 as the impact of the U.S. credit crunch began to be felt in the airline industry," according to IATA. Also citing fuel costs, IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani said, "The fortunes of the industry have taken a major turn for the worse."