The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States were to blame for a 21.2 percent year-on-year fall in the number of passengers departing or returning to Japan on Japanese airlines in September, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Thursday.
Hardest hit were flights to Pacific destinations such as Hawaii and Guam, with the combined number of passengers plunging 42 percent.
The number of passengers heading for or returning from the U.S. mainland and Canada took the second-hardest knock, plummeting 35.1 percent.
The number of passengers heading for and returning from Latin American destinations declined 34 percent, while those heading for or returning from European destinations dropped 19.8 percent.
Asian destinations fared better, with the number of passengers traveling in September slipping 9.2 percent.
"The total fell chiefly because passengers refrained from flying to the U.S. and neighboring destinations for fear that terrorists may strike again by hijacking airliners," a ministry official said.
"The magnitude of the falls in the number of passengers may become more pronounced in October."
The total number of international passengers on Japanese airlines reached 1.35 million in September.
Meanwhile, the number of domestic air passengers edged up 3.6 percent to 8.37 million in September, the ministry said.