GENEVA - The airline industry says commercial air travel to Japan will suffer a major slowdown in the short-term due to the earthquake and tsunami, and that a recovery will depend on how the nuclear crisis unfolds.
The International Air Transport Association said Friday the markets of China, Taiwan, and South Korea are most exposed to a drop in Japanese traffic, with at least a fifth of their revenue coming from the country. Thailand, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore are also exposed.
In Europe, France, Germany and Britain are the most affected.
The Geneva-based trade group says Japan produces produces 3-4 per cent of global jet fuel supplies and prices could rise because some refineries were damaged.
It said most Japanese airports have enough fuel to last another 10 days.
