Air France-KLM incurs $76 mln loss from Paris attacks

Air France-KLM announced Monday the November Paris terror attacks that left 130 people dead in the French capital and its aftermath cost the Franco-Dutch airline operator 70 million euros ($76 million) in December in revenue loss.

The company added the negative impact eased in the second half of the month. “Booking trends in December were in line with a progressive recovery,” the company said.

All the group’s airlines flew a total 6.72 million passengers in December, the same number as in December 2014.

Last month, Air France-KLM had estimated the cost of the consequences of the terror attacks at EUR50 million in November.

The Nov. 13 attacks in Paris and the Oct. 31 downing in Egypt of a Russian jetliner, killing all 224 on board, have hit European airlines hard, as potential travelers canceled flights amid tightened security measures.

On top of the fewer than expected bookings during the two last months of the year, Air France-KLM had to deal with several flight disruptions, among them a rise of hoax bomb threats against flights, including the finding of a fake bomb on board of a Boeing 777 flying from Mauritius to Paris. The hoax forced an emergency landing in the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

Source: MarketWatch