Air France September traffic falls 16 per cent after pilots’ strike

Air France’s traffic fell 15.9 per cent in September, when pilots’ staged a two-week strike, reducing income by an estimated 320-350 million euros, the Franco-Dutch airline announced on Wednesday.

Air France didn't take off in September Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

Air France-KLM, Europe’s second-biggest airline, carried 5.7 million passengers in September 2014 than in September 2013, a fall of 16.3 per cent.

Freight, which was already facing serious problems, fell 17.7 per cent, despite a cut in capacity of 16.6 per cent.

Air France shares fell 4.85 per cent to 6.354 euros after the news was announced.

September’s definitive accounts have not been agreed by finance director Pierre-François Riolacci made the figure public on Wednesday, estimating the total loss over the year would be “in the order of 500 million euros”.

Riolacci blamed blamed the pilots’ strike, which lasted from 15-28 September but also pointed out that demand was weak in September and that the company had noticed overcapacity on some long-haul flights to North America and Asia.