China Eastern Airlines Corp., the country's third-largest carrier, said passenger numbers fell 10.7 percent last month as restrictions put in place for the Beijing Olympics disrupted travel.

The airline carried 3.27 million passengers in July, it said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. Cargo volume rose 1.4 percent to 76,580 tons.

Air China Ltd. and China Southern Airlines Co., the country's biggest carriers, also flew fewer passengers last month, as the government boosted security checks, tightened visa rules and curbed flights to Beijing to smooth preparations for the Olympics. Travel demand has also been damped by consumer prices that surged 7.7 percent in the first seven months from a year earlier, cutting people's disposable income.

China Eastern, based in Shanghai, filled 73 percent of its available seats last month, 3.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

Beijing-based Air China, the nation's largest international carrier, posted a 6.8 percent decrease in passenger numbers last month to 2.98 million. China Southern, the nation's biggest carrier, said passenger numbers fell 1.9 percent to 5.34 million.