Singapore - Singapore Airlines (SIA), one of the world's leading carriers, posted a heavy slump in passenger numbers and a decline in cargo shipment Tuesday, as the aviation industry is further hit by the global economic downturn.

In February, SIA carried 1.18 million passengers, down 20.2 per cent from the same month last year, the airline said.

SIA filled 69.7 per cent of all available passenger seats in February, which was 7.1 percentage points lower than a year ago and 56.7 per cent of its available cargo space, down 5.5 percentage points.

"The prevailing global economic crisis has significantly dampened travel demand," SIA said in a statement.

SIA already reduced flight frequency and numbers on some routes and terminated services to several destinations.

The airline is also in talks with Singapore labour unions about measures to mitigate the impact of the global recession on SIA's staff, including voluntary leave without pay, voluntary early retirement and shorter work months.

In February, SIA posted a 43-per-cent slump in net profit for the period from October to December 2008 to 337 million Singapore dollars (225 million US dollars) from 590 million Singapore dollars year-on-year. (dpa)