LONDON (Bloomberg) - British Airways plc., Europe's third-biggest airline, said traffic fell 0.7 percent last month as economies slowed and passengers shunned the carrier's London Heathrow hub after the chaotic opening of the new Terminal 5.

The load factor, or proportion of seats filled, decreased 1.5 percentage points to 71.8 percent, compared with a year earlier, the London-based airline said in a statement yesterday. The passenger total dropped 0.6 percent to 2.82 million.

British Airways suffered 12 days of delays and more than 600 canceled flights after moving services to the £4.3 billion ($8.4 billion) Terminal 5 in March. The chaotic opening of the concourse, which was built to help ease overcrowding, led some passengers to avoid the airport, the company said in April.

First and business-class traffic fell by 0.9 percent and economy class by 0.6 percent, British Airways said. The carrier reiterated that long-haul premium traffic is still slightly ahead of last year, while short-haul economy and premium is weak.

George Stinnes, group treasurer, said last month the weakness in short haul is a reflection of tighter consumer spending as economies in some European countries slow. The airline has also added surcharges to pass higher fuel costs to passengers, increasing ticket prices.

The International Air Transport Association, whose members account for 93 percent of international traffic, said airlines may post a $6.1 billion loss this year because of record oil prices and the economic impact of a global tightening of credit.

British Airways may trim capacity to help deal with those challenges, CEO Willie Walsh has said. Customers will also have to bear the brunt of higher oil prices, according to the executive.