BRITISH
Airways’ latest passenger figures for September have shown an 11.6% drop in the
number of people carried compared to the same month last year.
Last month
the airline carried 3.32 million people, a drop from 3.8 million in September
2000.
The
biggest fall was on American routes, which saw passenger numbers fall from
720,000 to 488,000, a drop of 32.1%.
BA blamed
the dramatic fall in figures on the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
The company is now to shed 7,000 jobs, 5,200 of them as a result of events in
the US.
A
statement issued by the airline said: “British Airways is in a sound position
in spite of the immediate revenue pressures, having responded quickly with a
series of measures to reduce the scale of our business. We continue to assess
the demand outlook, and will take all necessary actions.”