Singapore - Singapore Airlines said Wednesday that its passenger load in March dropped by 23 per cent year-on-year to 1.28 million passenger as the carrier sheds flights and cuts capacity.

Singapore Airlines filled 69.4 per cent of its seats last month, the Straits Times newspaper reported, saying the comparative February figure was just slightly better at 69.7 per cent.

Taking passengers and cargo as a whole, the total amount of space filled was 62.6 per cent.

In a filing to the Singapore Exchange, the airline said the global economic downturn had weakened travel demand.

To cope with the crisis, it said it planned to cut capacity by 11 per cent over the next 12 months. It would also take 17 aircraft out of service for at least a year from its fleet of just more than 100 planes. (dpa)