Germany flag carrier Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, has blamed the global economic slump and the 11 September terror attacks in the US for a drop-off in business last year.

Lufthansa reported passenger numbers fell by 2.7% to 45.7m while the volume of cargo transported by the company fell 8.1% to 1.7m tonnes in the period from January to December.

Most of the world's airlines suffer a huge drop in turnover after the attacks.

British Airways, the UK's biggest airline, has reported a 6.7% drop of passenger numbers in the recent nine month to 30m.

Lufthansa shares dropped 0.38% to 17.34 euros on the news.

The carrier said it would publish full earnings and sales figures for the whole of 2001 on 25 April.