Brussels, 28/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - In the first half of 2006,, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that international passenger traffic grew by 6.7% while international freight traffic was up 5.2% over the same period in 2005. 'In June 2006 alone, passenger traffic continued the pattern of strong and stable growth seen over the past 18 months with a 6.5% expansion over June 2005,' explains IATA: 'Freight performance was disappointing with 4.1% growth, a drop from the 5.1% growth recorded in May.' Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General, said: 'The good news is that neither the extraordinary price of oil nor the inching-up of interest rates negatively impacted demand… The revenue environment is strong. In each of the last three years, revenues increased 10%.' He went on: 'Change is urgent and now is the time. Airline efficiency gains must be matched throughout the value chain…. But we now look to the oil industry to move faster at developing alternative fuels to further improve efficiency and environmental performance.'