Taking this and other exceptional costs, including €180 million of restructuring at Iberia into account, the International Airlines Group made an after-tax profit of €1.567 billion in the nine months to September 30, with the three-month period earning €1 billion.

IAG’s profits for the nine-month period are up 21.7% year on year, with the latest quarter showing an 18.1% increase.

IAG’s brands – BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Level and Vueling – carried 3.3% more passengers year on year.

IAG chief executive officer Willie Walsh said: “All our companies performed well. Passenger unit revenue was up 2.2% at constant currency boosted by improvements in the Spanish and Latin American markets. Our commercial performance was good despite underlying disruption from severe weather and terrorism.”

The Group said that increased capacity from its budget brand Level, which operates from Barcelona, was “partially offset” by lower capacity to Asia/Pacific with the discontinuation of BA’s Chengdu route and changes in Japan plus frequency reductions in Brazil. Aer Lingus launched four new US routes but Vueling had “a small capacity reduction”.

The group said it expected full-year operating profits of “around €3 billion before exceptional items”.