The growth in air traffic is continuing to slow down, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Figures for August show a 1.3% compared with 1.9% in July.
Load factors fell to 79.2% for the month compared with 81% for the same weeks in 2007.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and ceo, said: "The industry crisis is deepening and no region is immune. Urgent measures are needed."
Four of the six IATA regions showed a growth in passenger traffic: Latin America (11.9%), North America (5.2%), Middle East (4.3%) and Europe (1.6%).
Giovanni Bisignani
But the two others, Africa and Asia Pacific, both showed a fall, respectively, of 5% and 3.1%.
"Passenger traffic grew by 5.4% in the first half of the year. That slowed to 1.9% in July and 1.3% in August," Mr Bisignani said.
"The contrast between the first half of the year and the last two months is stark.
"The slowdown has been so sudden that airlines can't adjust capacity quickly enough.
"While the drop in the oil price is welcome relief on the cost side, fuel remains 30% higher than a year ago.
"And with traffic growth continuing to decline, the industry is still heading for a $5.2bn loss this year."
Mr Bisignani called on airlines to examine all areas of their business, from taxation to charges and operational processes to find ways of reducing costs.
"It's a matter of survival," he said.
Visit www.iata.org.