Global air travel has risen about its peaks before the global downturn in 2008, but the high cost of jet fuel and other crises could stand in the way of a sustained rebound from here. Airline profits are being squeezed by a succession of crises and shocks that have occurred during the first four months of this year.

Still, airline traffic numbers are up 16.5% year on year, led by increases at European and Latin American flights. European carries showed a 29.3% spike in traffic while Latin American carriers followed with a 25.9% rise. In the Asia-Pacific region, traffic improved by 5.1% thanks to strong travel demand in China and India. However, the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan limited those gains as passengers refused to travel to the usually popular country.