Eurostar has announced passenger numbers and revenues have been hit following the terrorist attacks in Paris and closure of Eurotunnel following a lorry fire earlier this year.
The cross-channel rail operator said sales were down 6 per cent for the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year. Passenger number remained the same at 2.3 million.
Eurostar said its results were helped by a boost in business travel bookings with its Business Premier service increasing by 7 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2014.
The rail operator said this trend is “testament to the increasing enthusiasm among business travellers” for Eurostar services.
Eurostar said despite a “challenging” January, trading returned to a more normalised pattern over the entire quarter.
It reported high levels of trading during a record Easter holiday period and the company is seeing a strong year-on-year increase in forward bookings for the summer period.
In March, the UK government confirmed the sale of its 40 per cent stake in Eurostar for around £760 million.