Dow transportation average up 2.2 percent; airlines bounce

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow Jones transportation average was up 2.2 percent and on track for its biggest daily percentage gain since March, but it is set to end the week nearly flat after sharp losses earlier this week.

The biggest percentage gains were in airline shares, including JetBlue Airways , up 4.7 percent; Delta Air Lines , up 4.6 percent; and United Airlines , up 4.8 percent. The NYSE ARCA Airline index was up 2.9 percent.

Airline shares were down sharply earlier this week after the first diagnosis of Ebola in a patient in the United States raised caution about travel.

United Airlines said on Wednesday it believed the U.S. Ebola patient flew on its airline from Brussels to Dallas-Fort Worth via Washington on Sept. 20, based on information provided to the airline by federal officials.

The Dow transportation average is up 14.6 percent for the year so far, compared with the S&P 500's gain of 6.5 percent for the year so far.

(Editing by James Dalgleish and Chris Reese)