CHINESE FAMILY WEAR MASKS BEFORE A FLIGHT AT THE AIRPORT IN SHANGHAI, 2003-05-19 (photo)

A Chinese family wear protective masks on their way to board a flight at Hong Qiao airport in Shanghai May 19, 2003. China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd, the country's second largest carrier, said passenger traffic in April slumped nearly a third from the same month last year. The Shanghai-based airline carried 744,010 passengers in April, down 30.71 percent from March and 29.64 percent from April 2002, it said in a statement. It did not explain the fall, but air travel has been hit hard by the outbreak of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV CC/CP