Brussels, 06/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - According to estimates published on 4 January by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), airlines of its 190 member nations carried around 2.5 billion passengers in 2010, i.e. 6.3% more than the previous year. The rise in international air traffic (+8.8%) mainly due to the rebound of business travel and long-haul leisure flights, the healthy progression of domestic markets in developing countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and greater economic growth of these markets, has, however, led to a two-speed regime, that is, with regional differences. The largest rise in air traffic was recorded by airlines of the Middle East (21%), ahead of those in the Asia/Pacific region (12.9%), Latin America (11.4%) and Africa (10%). Traffic in the mature markets of North America and Europe grew from 6.2% to 6.7% respectively. The demand for air travel has remained high despite disruption caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which led to partial closure of European airspace. Over 100,000 flights were cancelled, 80% of which were in the intra-European market, and 9 million passengers were affected by the disruption, ICAO states. The agency predicts that global traffic will increase by 4.7% in 2011 and by 4.9% in 2012. The impact of the high oil price rises (over $80/barrel) on growth could be attenuated by the delivery of new aircraft that are more energy efficient, the UN agency states. (A.By./transl.jl)