FACTBOX-How airline traffic responded to SARS

April 27 (Reuters) - The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, and signs it is already spreading to other areas, raise the risk that airlines could suffer a drop in traffic comparable to the 2003 SARS crisis, rating agency Standard & Poor's said.

It said in a statement that while governments were better prepared to contain the disease, the possible use of quarantine measures could have a quicker traffic impact than in the past.

This is how traffic responded to SARS, a respiratory disease first reported in China in Nov. 2002 but which did not become an international issue until early 2003, when it spread rapidly.

The figures are drawn from preliminary year-on-year percentage changes reported each month by airlines body IATA.

Global Asia Notes

------ ---- -----

Dec-02 +13.02 Record global growth

Jan-03 +11.00 +13.3

Feb-03 +5.08 +4.57

Mar-03 -6.73 -9.93 War in Iraq, SARS emerges

Apr-03 -18.5 -44.8 Traffic impact close to

post-Sept 11, 2001, levels

due to Iraq and SARS: a

combination IATA calls

"disastrous"

May-03 -21.0 -50.8 SARS widens

Jun-03 -11.8 -35.8 Industry turns corner

Jul-03 -3.6 -14.0 Recovery under way

Aug-03 -0.3 -4.6

Sep-03 +1 -1.6

Oct-03 +2.5 -0.1

Nov-03 +5.9 +3.9

Dec-03 +5.2 +4.5 (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Carol Bishopric)