Washington, Apr 4 (IANS): Passengers who travelled on US airlines and foreign airlines serving the US continued to increase in 2011, the US Transportation Department reported.
Domestic and international airline passengers totalled 803.5 million last year, up 1.7 percent from 2010. It was also 4.3 percent above that of 2009, said the department.
US airlines carried 1.3 percent more domestic passengers in 2011, while international passengers rose 1.7 percent.
Meanwhile, passengers to and from the US on foreign carriers jumped 5.6 percent, reported Xinhua.
As the US economy is recovering slowly, the nation's air traffic has been gradually peaking up from early 2010, after suffering from the 2008 financial crisis. However, the US regional airline industry continues to contract and transform amid rising competition from major carriers and higher fuel costs.