Europe's biggest airlines have decided to scale back the number of flights to the United States today as passengers shun air travel on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks against the US.
Many airlines took the decision after noting deep drops in bookings for today. However, Aer Lingus said yesterday it was proceeding with its full schedule of routes, adding that the seats were virtually sold out.
In Britain, a British Airways spokesman said: "People are not flying on the anniversary," explaining that bookings were so low that managers decided to cut about one-third of the airline's usually scheduled flights from Britain to the US.
A similar story was heard at other big European carriers.
British airline Virgin Atlantic cut three of its usually scheduled flights to the US for Wednesday as did German carrier Lufthansa and Scandinavian group SAS.
Air France, which is just recovering from a costly four-day strike that ended late Monday, is cutting two flights to the US.
At the International Air Transport Association (IATA), spokesman Mr William Gaillard said that although many airlines had reported what he called a "marginal" drop in passenger numbers on Wednesday, it was being compensated for by more bookings before and after the anniversary.
Unlike their bigger rivals, smaller European carriers said they expected to conduct business as usual today. Spanish carrier Air Europa and TAO-Air Portugal expect a normal day, while Finnair of Finland said its New York flight was full.
Outside Europe, carriers noted that bookings for US flights were little affected by the anniversary of the attacks.
Thai Airways said its bookings today were at normal levels, with its Bangkok-Los Angeles flight slightly "overbooked".
Turkish Airlines, Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc, Pakistan International Airlines and Israel's El Al also reported normal reservation levels for today.
The terrorist attacks last year hit the airline industry particularly hard, scaring many people away from plane travel.
The collapse in passenger numbers provoked the bankruptcy of airlines from Australia to Switzerland and the United States. - (AFP)
