BA says it has lost up to 25% of customers

The number of passengers travelling on British Airways has fallen by up to 25% following the US terror attacks.

The company warns that there is little sign of recovery.

Lord Marshall, the airline's chairman, hints that further jobs might have to be cut unless more people start flying again, particularly between the UK and America.

He told a civil aviation summit in London that the industry was "clearly in crisis" and would never be the same again.

Lord Marshall told a news conference that BA was close to achieving the 7,200 job cuts announced last month and further reductions would depend on how many passengers return to air travel.

Current BA levels were between 20 and 25% down for the time of year and there was not much sign of recovery, mainly because of a big fall-off in the number of Americans flying across the Atlantic.

Lord Marshall joined Transport Minister John Spellar and union officials at the summit to spread the message that air travel was safe and would help boost the economy.

Mr Spellar said there was never a safer time to fly.