The head of the company which manages Rome airport, Riccardo Raimondi, said passenger traffic to the Middle East was down 50 percent from a year earlier.

Passenger traffic to Africa had fallen by 30 percent, while there was a 15-percent decline for the Far East and North America, said Raimondi, who stated that overall, traffic through the airport had slumped 12 percent "in recent days" without elaborating.

He said internal flights had fallen by 10 percent.

Raimondi added that several airlines, including Delta Airlines, Korean Airlines, Quantas, Air Kuwait and Northwest, had informed airport authorities they would cut some flights from their summer schedules because of fading demand.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is believed to be transmitted through close contact with sufferers but other modes of transmission are being investigated.

More than 80 people have died worldwide in the outbreak since it began in China last November.

SPACE.WIRE