Intense snowfall and other weather-related disturbances have cost Air France-KLM up to ¤35 million ($46 million) so far this month, AP quoted the chief executive as saying Tuesday. Though other European carriers have yet to make their own estimates, they have also been hurt by the icy conditions, which have caused thousands of flight cancellations across the continent. Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon put the cost of last weekend's heavy snowfall at up to ¤20 million. Speaking on Europe-1 radio, he presented his apologies to stranded passengers but said there would be no refunds. Thousands of passengers traveling during the holiday season have been stranded by major delays and cancellations prompted by snow and ice. The troubles disrupted European airports, including Air France's hub at Charles de Gaulle in Paris and KLM's base at Schiphol in Amsterdam, as well as London's Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport. British Airways is not making an estimate of losses yet. BA says that because of the snow troubles, it is currently operating about a third of its flights. By comparison, the airline lost 15-20 million pounds ($23-$31 million) a day during the six days when virtually all flying from Britain was shut down by the Iceland volcano earlier this year. Deutsche Lufthansa AG spokesman Thomas Jachnow said several thousand flights had to be canceled this month because of the weather-related disruptions. Lufthansa's main hub in Frankfurt saw 550 cancellations out of a total of about 1,300 flights Tuesday. Germany's biggest airline has not yet estimated the extra costs, he said. Scandinavian airline group SAS likewise said it was too early to estimate the cost of the disruptions. «Right now our focus is just to take care of the stranded passengers,» SAS spokesman Anders Lindstrom said.
