Terror scare costs BA £40m
British Airways today said it cancelled 1,280 flights during last month’s terror scare at a cost of £40m (€59m).
The airline said it grounded the flights between August 10 and August 17 in the aftermath of an alleged plot to blow transatlantic flights out of the sky.
It said the disruption cost it £40m (€59) in lost revenues and increased costs such as on hotels and catering for passengers and recovering lost baggage.
BA said bookings for the rest of the year were recovering but remained below levels seen before the terror scare and subsequent changes to security at airports in the UK, including restrictions on hand luggage.
The company said: “Since the disruption, there has been some impact on forward bookings. The overall level of bookings has returned to levels experienced last year, but is still weaker than the trend of the past few months.
“The recovery of premium and non-premium transfer traffic, for example, is lagging due to the limitations on carry-on baggage at London.”
BA warned that it was too early to judge what the full impact of the terror scare would be on business but added: “Underlying market conditions continue to be good.”
