Finnair's scheduled traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, fell by about 11 per cent year-on-year in October, with a 12-per cent capacity cut in the same period, pushing the government-controlled carrier's load factor up by half a point to about 78 per cent.

"Capacity was optimally cut to match falling demand," Christer Haglund, a Finnair spokesman, said in a statement.

"Winter is expected to continue to be difficult, so further adjustments to traffic will be made. For leisure traffic in particular, the coming winter season will be tough. The decline in cargo traffic, however, currently appears to be over."

STT