British Airways carried 6.5 percent fewer passengers in May than in the same month last year, while business class traffic took another battering with a 17.2 percent decline.

The carrier, which last month posted record full year losses and said it saw no hope for a recovery in the short term, said in a Wednesday statement that market conditions were unchanged.

The load factor was down 1 percent at 75.1 percent.

British Airways shares, down 2 percent at 154.7 pence before the announcement, failed to move on the news.

Irish low-cost rival Ryanair, which carries around twice as many passengers a year as BA, earlier posted a 9 percent rise in traffic for the same month.