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Austrian Airlines has announced that it carried 5.2m passengers between January and June this year, a record figure for an opening half-year period.

The company's operations in the first six months of the year were influenced by a range of extraordinary factors, including an increased number of holidays in May and the Euro 2008 championships in June.

Demand for long-haul travel was affected by issues such as the economic problems in the United States and tighter visa requirements for Chinese travellers ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Austrian Airlines chief executive officer Alfred Otsch said that the record passenger figures, as well as a load factor of 74%, had been achieved despite 'challenging surrounding conditions'.

He added: 'The current crisis in the aviation industry, high kerosene prices and slower demand are having their effect on us too and selective capacity adjustments and seasonal reductions will be implemented in the coming months.

'Against the background of these developments, however, it is to our benefit that markets in central and eastern Europe and the Levant and Middle East are more robust and less harshly affected by the slower economic cycle.'

The strongest sector for Austrian Airlines in the first half of the year was its short- and medium-haul segment, which carried 4.1m passengers – an increase of 6.1% on the previous year.

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