TRAVEL operator Airtours has warned that job losses can not be ruled out in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US.

Chief executive Tim Byrne's comments come only days after the firm said the attacks had already cost it £10 million, including the expense of getting staff and holidaymakers out of the US and having to ground a number of planes when American airspace was temporarily closed.

Mr Byrne said the Rossendale and Accrington-based tour operator, travel agency and holiday airline firm, which employs 29,000 people worldwide and more than 1,000 local people, is not planning any immediate cuts.

But he said: "I don't think you can rule out job losses -- we will do what we have to in these difficult circumstances to tighten our belt."

Mr Byrne said it was too early to predict how bookings will be affected, but said people had still gone on holiday during previous conflicts -- such as the Gulf War.

He said: "People lose their confidence and bookings go down, but then people come back and say 'I have got to get on with my life'. Of course there will be disruption, and of course it will have an effect on our bookings, but we are very financially robust."