International airlines carried 6% more passengers in...

International airlines carried 6% more passengers in the first half of this year than in the same period last year, the International Air Transport Assn. reported. The figure was in line with annual projected growth of between 6% and 7%, the 172-member group said in a news release. There were 87.9 million international passengers on IATA-member flights through June. An encouraging sign was a 2 percentage point increase in passenger load, as 67% of seats on international flights were sold in the first half of the year. The increase was largely because of increased traffic to and from the Far East, IATA said.