Russian airline passengers down 16.5 pct Jan-July

MOSCOW Sep 2 (Reuters) - Russia's airline industry saw passenger numbers slump 16.5 percent in the January-July period, the Federal Aviation agency reported on Wednesday.

Russia's economy is battling its first contraction in a decade while rising unemployment and a weaker rouble RUB= have made foreign holidays less affordable than last year.

In July, the middle of the holiday season, national airlines carried 5.25 million passengers, 10.8 percent fewer than a year earlier but 14.1 percent up on June.

With Russians spending less, airlines are struggling and some have started restructuring talks or are close to bankruptcy.

Recent economic data suggested Russia was more optimistic on growth. [ID:nL1651500] (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Dan Lalor)