Air France Warns Of Drop In Travel After Attacks

Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) has warned its finances could suffer after the terror attacks in the country, saying some people now have a "special concern" about travelling there.

Releasing its half-year results, the company said the attacks had reduced the attractiveness of France as a travel destination - meaning there could be challenging times ahead for its business.

"The global context in 2016 remains highly uncertain regarding the geopolitical and economic environment in which we operate," the airline group said in a statement.

It reported a 5.2% drop in second-quarter sales to €6.22bn (£5.23bn) compared with last year, and about €40m euros in losses connected to staff strikes.

Air France said "a special concern about France as a destination", as well as fuel price concerns, meant an uncertain year ahead.

The results were announced as the company faced another strike, leading to it cancelling 13% of flights on a day which is one of the summer's peak travel times.

The airline's concerns were echoed by French officials earlier this month when they said the number of tourists arriving on regular flights had fallen 5.8% since January, including by 11% in Paris.

It blamed the fall on a sluggish global economic recovery and "most of all the effect of the terror attacks that have struck Europe in recent quarters and which resumed with the Brussels attacks at the end of March".

:: History Of Deadly Attacks In France

France has been the target of a number of attacks by Islamist terrorists, with the country remaining on high alert since the Paris attacks in November.

On 14 July, 84 people were killed in Nice (Milan: NICE.MI - news) after a gunman drove a 19-ton lorry into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day fireworks.

On Tuesday, a priest celebrating Mass in a town in Normandy was murdered by two men who shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as they ran out of the church.