The International Air Transport Association (IATA) plans to push next week for aggressive industry deregulation since governments and airports have not done enough to improve efficiency, its head said on Thursday.

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said the group of 265 airlines would propose further deregulation at its annual meeting in Tokyo on Monday and Tuesday.

"We see too many inefficiencies... we, the customers, are not any more ready to pay for their inefficiencies," he told a news conference.

World passenger traffic grew 8.7 percent in the first four months of 2005, but the growth has not translated into profitability due to skyrocketing fuel costs.

Over regulation, inefficiencies at airports and air navigation service providers had marred efforts to cut costs, says IATA, which coordinates aviation rules and standards.

"Airlines moved fast after September 11, re-engineering, restructuring... But governments have not played a role," Bisignani said.

The airline industry, reeling since the September 11, 2001 attacks, expects an industry loss this year of USD$5.5 billion as carriers battle against soaring fuel costs, IATA said in April.

Benchmark US light crude prices reached a record USD$60 a barrel last month. They have slipped since then but moved back above USD$50 on Friday.

Bisignani described an expected 20 percent cut in landing charges at Tokyo's Narita Airport, privatized in April 2004, as "reasonable and fair."

Narita, with the world's highest landing charges of JPY2,400 yen (USD$22.22) per tonne, is expected to propose the 20 percent cut in charges to IATA in June.

IATA last year launched a massive cost-cutting program, aiming to introduce e-ticketing systems, self-service kiosks for check-in and bar-coded boarding passes, among others.