British Airways’ profit doubling

London: IAG, which owns British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, has said that first-half profits more than doubled but cautioned over the ongoing impact of French air traffic control strikes.

Earnings after taxation flew to 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the first six months of 2018 compared with 607 million euros a year earlier, IAG said in a results statement.

The London-listed group, which is also the owner of Irish airline Aer Lingus and Spanish carrier Vueling, added that total revenues swelled three percent to 11.2 billion euros.

"We´re reporting another good set of results in quarter two," said chief executive Willie Walsh. "There was a strong performance in both unit revenue and costs.

"Unfortunately, French air traffic control strikes continued to challenge our airlines´ operations causing disruption to our customers," he said.