Snow disruption to cost BA £50m

British Airways says that the recent weather disruption will affect its 2010 third quarter results by around £50m. Announcing its December traffic and capacity statistics, the carrier said that airport closures and reduced operating capacities caused by the adverse weather conditions in the UK, Europe and North America, have affected traffic “equivalent to a reduction in capacity versus December 2009 of around 12 per cent”. BA’s initial assessment of the financial impact of the disruption shows that the carrier’s third quarter results will be affected by “some £50m”, with “some small additional impact in January from cancelled return journeys”. The airline’s December 2010 traffic fell by 8.3 per cent compared with the same period in 2009, with premium traffic down 1.6 per cent and non-premium traffic down 9.6 per cent. However BA said that the “underlying market conditions remain positive”. For more information visit ba.com.