Paris Air Travel Proceeds, But Some Cancel Future Visits

Even as airlines operated a normal schedule of flights into and out of Paris on Saturday, travelers with future plans to visit the French capital reconsidered their options after a series of terror attacks. Some quickly canceled their tickets, a worrisome sign for the travel and tourism industries.

Joe Nardozzi, a 31-year-old New York investment banker, and his wife won't be taking the wedding-anniversary trip they planned later this month.

"I have no interest in losing my life over a trip to Paris," he said.

Travel agents said some clients called to cancel trips, and one advocacy group for business travelers predicted that corporations would let frightened employees do the same.

On Friday night, terrorists with guns and suicide vests carried out coordinated attacks across Paris that left at least 129 people dead and more than 350 injured. The targets, including a cafe and a concert hall, were the types of places that travelers on a vacation or business trip might visit. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Decisions by companies and leisure travelers could hinge on whether the Paris attacks are seen as a one-time event or the vanguard of a stepped-up campaign by Islamic radicals. Islamic State, the group fighting in Syria and Iraq, also claimed last month that it bombed a Russian passenger jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, although investigators have not determined the cause of the crash that killed 224 people.

High tensions after the attacks could be seen at airports across Europe on Saturday.

A Paris-bound Air France jet was evacuated at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after authorities received a threatening tweet. A terminal at London's Gatwick Airport was shut down for hours after a man was seen throwing away what looked like a gun.

Air France said it would operate all upcoming flights to and from France but that delays were expected because of increased security at airports, including Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.

U.S. authorities said that they had nothing to add to Friday's comment by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson that officials didn't know of any specific or credible terror threats against the United States.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said that all their flights between the U.S. and Paris operated on Saturday. American Airlines said all its flights would run too except a Paris-to-Dallas flight — that plane remained in Dallas when the Paris-bound leg was canceled Friday night.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said flights to and from Paris were full.

Still, some Americans canceled upcoming trips after seeing coverage of the terror on Paris streets.

Blake Fleetwood, president of New York-based Cook Travel, said about 10 customers out of the roughly 30 with trips booked to Paris told him they want to cancel. He and his wife might do the same next month.

"It's a terrible situation," Fleetwood said. "It's going to hurt the travel industry, the hotels, the airlines, the restaurants."