INTERNATIONAL – Air France KLM reported higher passenger traffic figures for December, although the airline added that anti-government protests in France had hit its revenues.
The company said the protests, which have been marred by violence and have led to disruption in shopping areas and the transport network, were estimated to have had a negative impact of around 15 million euros ($17 million) on revenues.
Air France KLM added that it carried around 7.7 million passengers in December, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier.
For the whole of 2018, the company carried around 101 million passengers, 2.8 percent higher than the previous year.
Air France KLM hired Benjamin Smith last August as its new group chief executive, after devastating strikes had led to his predecessor’s resignation. Smith has said Air France must narrow the profitability gap with its more efficient KLM stablemate.
In December, the company was getting ready to appoint Anne Rigail as chief executive officer, making her the first woman to lead the airline, a person familiar with the matter said.