Flights to Sydney, Perth and Brisbane will be among 200 cut by Singapore Airlines between now and the end of March as the carrier battles to cope with falling passenger demands.

Singapore Airlines will also cut the numbers of flights to China and India and Hong Kong in Asia, while services to  London and Zurich will also shrink, according to a report in the Straits Times.

Overall, the reductions represent just under 3% of the total number of flights operated by SIA, the paper said.

"We do not want to be flying half-empty planes around the world any longer than we have to, because it increases our cost burden at a time when we can least afford to," the paper quoted SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw saying.

SIA said on Thursday it filled 65.8% of the space available on its planes for passengers and cargo in December, down from 70.7%.

Reuters