Economic Conditions Causing Air France-KLM To Suspend Direct Paris-Tehran Flights

October 25, 2008 12:24 p.m. EST

Paris, France (AHN) - Europe's largest airline, Air France-KLM, announced Friday that slumping global passenger traffic would make it difficult for the company to meet profit targets and that economic conditions forced it to suspend direct flights from Paris to Tehran, Iran.

The direct flights will be suspended at the end of October.

But the company will increase its weekly Amsterdam - Tehran flights from four to five, with passengers able to use the 15 daily flights between Paris and Amsterdam to connect, an unnamed spokesperson told the Islamic republic news agency.

Airline officials reportedly expect to resume the direct flights when financial conditions improve.

Airline-passenger traffic fell in September, according to the International Air Transport Association. It was the first drop in five years.

The fact that it is affecting Air France, known as the world's most profitable and best-managed airline makes it likely that other airlines will be more severely affected, observers say.

Air France shares tumbled by up to 9.8 percent on the Paris market.