Helsinki - The slowdown in the global economy contributed to a drop in the number of passengers who flew with Finnish carrier Finnair in May, the group said Tuesday.

Finnair said it flew some 554,000 passengers in May, down 3 per cent from the corresponding period of 2007.

In a statement, the group said demand for flights to China and India had levelled off, impacting the carrier's load factor - a measurement of how many seats are filled.

While Finnair reported a 15 per cent increase in passengers to Asia in May, expanded capacity meant a drop in the load factor to 62.6 per cent, down 10 points on the corresponding business period 2007.

The earthquake that hit China had lowered demand from Europe while travel from China to Europe "decreased because of restrictions on travelling," Finnair said without elaboration. (dpa)