Swiss said on Friday that it carried 11.6 million passengers in 2002, which was almost two million more than the 9.8 million predicted in its business plan.

Passengers numbered 2.92 million in the fourth quarter, a drop of 16.3 per cent compared with the third.

The fall was mainly down to slower business on European routes; intercontinental passengers fell by 10.4 per cent in the last three months of the year.

The airline said in a statement that demand usually falls in the winter season, but added that the unfavourable economic situation and geopolitical uncertainties had also played their part.

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